Easton Town Center
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Easton Town Center (often simply called Easton or with incorrectly spelled Towne) is the largest mixed-use, office, retail, dining and entertainment center in Central Ohio near the suburbs of New Albany and Gahanna.
Widely considered the brainchild of Les Wexner, founder, chairman and CEO of Limited Brands, Easton Town Center comprises 1.5 million square feet of retail space built upon approximately 90 acres within a larger 1,300 acre development simply called Easton. The retail development was co-developed by The Georgetown Company and Steiner + Associates, while the overall Easton area is a partnership between Limited Brands and The Georgetown Company. Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the original investors in Easton Town Center.
Easton Town Center Phase I (the South District) opened in the summer of 1999. It now includes tenants such as Crate and Barrel, Cheesecake Factory, Restoration Hardware, IMO - Independent Mobile, Barnes and Noble, Brio Tuscan Grille, PF Chang's, J.Crew, and Pottery Barn. (It once contained a Virgin Megastore, which closed in May 2004.) The South District hosts outdoor concerts, holiday events and a random pattern pop-up fountain.
Easton Town Center Phase II (the North District or "Fashion District") opened in the fall of 2001. It includes tenants such as McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant, Nordstrom, Macy's, Apple Computer, Express, Bon Vie Bistro & Bar, Abuelos Mexican Food Embassy, Ruehl No. 925, C.O. Bigelow, Henri Bendel, bebe, Coach, Smith & Wollensky, the Discovery Channel store, Club Libby Lu, and McDonald's. The North District is also home to the Children's Park, which is a brick fountain area with a large outdoor train set, The Easton Express, and various carved limestone statues dubbed Easton's Creatures of Imagination. There is also a large circular fountain further north.
The town center is designed to look like a classic American main street with public spaces, fountains, street grids and metered parking spots in front of stores. The proceeds of the meters are donated to charity via The Easton Community Foundation.
AMC Theaters operates a movie theater at Easton with 30 screens and over 6,000 seats. Lifestyle Fitness operates a 24-hour exercise facility, the largest in Columbus. With over 30 food venues, 6 of the top 10 grossing restaurants in the city can be found at Easton. The Development Design Group is the design firm that was involved in the development of the town center.
In 2000, Easton Town Center received the ICSC award for Innovative Design of a New Project. It is consistently ranked by Columbus Monthly as customers' favorite retail destination in central Ohio and has set the standard for "lifestyle" retail projects in the US.
Easton Town Center is considered to be the first major US lifestyle center which altered the trend of regional retail development to a format that will succeed regional malls. Since the original development of Easton Town Center, many similar projects have been created across the United States increasingly integrating other types of real estate including offices, residential and hospitality uses. Some examples illustrating this trend would be (in alphabetical order) Bayshore in Glendale, Wisconsin; Bowie Town Center in Bowie, Maryland; The Greene in Dayton, Ohio; The Grove in Los Angeles, California; Kierland Commons in Scottsdale, Arizona; Santana Row in San Jose, California; Southlake Town Center in Southlake, Texas; Zona Rosa in Kansas City, Missouri; Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga, California.
[edit] Timeline
- 1990 – 1998 Planning and infrastructure development
- 1997 Chase Manhattan Residential Mortgage HQ; Easton Chiller
- 1998 Easton Oval; Sports Barn; Soccer Fields open 55 acres
- 1999 Easton Town Center Phase I; Easton Hilton
- 2000 Easton Commons Apartments; Marriott Residence Inn
- 2001 Expansion (Phase II) Fashion District; acquisition of 100 acres for development
- 2003 Easton Commons Phase II; Marriott Courtyard
- 2004 Easton exceeds 30,000 jobs created; $80 million in taxes annually
- 2005 Lane Bryant Headquarters open at Easton bringing total office development over 3,000,000 sf
- 2006 Germain Luxury Auto Center to open December '06
