This morning, I left Pittsburgh at around 8AM and drove to Columbus, OH, driving straight to Easton Town Center. Easton town center is well-designed indoor/outdoor mall in the Easton neighborhood of Columbus, OH. I think a trip advisor reviewer did well describing this mall as “a city within a city.” In a way, it’s like Victoria Gardens (Mall located in Rancho Cucamonga) with many square blocks of drivable streets, extravagant facades, and public gathering places. The centerpiece of this development is an indoor 3-story mall/food court/movie theater area, which is illuminated primarily by the natural light entering through the skylights. Throughout the mall complex, self-service bike rental kiosks allow visitors to bike around the complex and neighborhood. Another creative implementation is the donation of parking meter change proceeds to charity.
The center is owned by Les Wexner, a retail magnate who through Limited Brands owns Victoria Secret, Bath & Body Works and many more retail companies. In addition to the 90 acre land area of the mall, Les owns a total of 1300 acres surrounding the mall. The mall itself was co-developed with partners, and encompasses 1.7 million SF. Although it’s officially only about a third of the size of Mall of America, it definitely has more character and is certainly just as groundbreaking and revolutionary.
Although real estate ownership is a very fragmented market, it still is possible to have a feeling of a monopoly through owning a mall such as Easton town center or Victoria gardens. When there’s one dominant mall in an area, it’s as if the whole market is controlled by that single mall owner. If that mall owner wants to charge $60/SF or even $100/SF, then the tenants have to pay that and almost all of them would be more than willing to if their sales are high, as they usually are in these dominant malls. These mall owners, own the “cities,” the streets, every single storefront, they run the city council, and control everything A-Z. What a powerful and safe investment situation to be in!
Afterwards, I visited German Village, an old part of Columbus, OH with brick roads and historic buildings. The highlight of this area was visiting “The Book Loft,” a 32-room book store/maze. The store was originally opened about 40 years ago, and the owner continuously expanded the store until it encompassed the entire building. It was really interesting and there are many unique features such as CD players in each of the rooms playing different CD’s, multiple staircases ascending and descending throughout the store, and long corridors stretching up to 30 feet.
Next, I visited Scioto Mile, a riverfront walkable area in Downtown Columbus. The area is mostly under construction, but there are some finished walkways which point to the character and design that will soon encompass the entire area. Property values and pedestrian traffic will undoubtedly increase and make this one of the most desirable residential and commercial parts of town.
Next, I checked into my AirBNB home. The host, Kristin, has two hairless cats and is a “sexual health nurse.” (what else to expect from AirBNB.) She’s much younger than I was expecting and very good looking, but I left the house to visit Starbucks. This Starbucks is incredible! It’s a former bank building with high ceilings, unique architectural features, a fireplace and a seating area inside the bank vault!
Later on, I went to a Ribs and Jazz Festival. Apparently, lots of people are passionate about eating meat off bones. I think it’s just a sort of ego thing, with people feeling tough, manly, and cool for enjoying to eat meat. I tried ribs and beef and they were OK but overrated. The atmosphere was great though and the festival was a nice experience. Also, the Arena District was a very modern, hip part of town, with high-end restaurants and newer buildings. After about half an hour, I decided to head back to the AirBNB home and just catch up on writing, thinking, and relaxing.
At the home, the hairless cats are a bit scary to me. if someone wanted to torture me, those cats would probably play a primary role because they look and move in a very stealthy way and look vicious. Kristin is a very admirable woman who seems to have a great head on her shoulders. She acquired this home early this year and I enjoyed reading the notes on her fridge below. She seems to have healthy self-confidence.
