Easton Town Center
 Easton Logo | |
| Location | Columbus, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°3′7″N 82°54′55″W / 40.05194°N 82.91528°WCoordinates: 40°3′7″N 82°54′55″W / 40.05194°N 82.91528°W |
| Opening date | 1999 |
| No. of stores and services | ~240 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 2 |
| Total retail floor area | 1,643,348 square feet (152,672.0 m2) |
| No. of floors | 2 |
Easton Town Center ("Easton") is an up-scale town center in northeast Columbus, Ohio, United States. It is designed to look like a classic American main street with public spaces, fountains, a street grid, and metered storefront parking. In keeping with its main street intent, a variety of stores, restaurants, and service oriented businesses can be found. At present Easton attracts roughly 21 million visitors per year.[1]
Tenants and Layout Design
Easton Town Center is anchored by Macy's and Nordstrom and includes 240 other retail shops.
Nordstrom is found at the northernmost point. Despite Easton being a developed town center its grid system is not perfectly centered, with certain areas being designed for specific uses. For example, the South District hosts outdoor concerts, holiday events, and an interactive water fountain on its town square, and also features a large outdoor train set, The Easton Express. The only indoor area is the Station Building which houses H&M, the AMC Dine-In Movie Theatre, and T-Mobile USA. Parking ramps are scattered throughout.
Shops range from mall mainstays like American Eagle, Bath and Body Works, Victoria's Secret, and Sunglass Hut to local and Midwestern based businesses and international fashion boutiques. In keeping with it being a town center, a variety of shops can be found, including an AMC Dine-In Movie Theatre, flower shop, pet shop, an organic grocery store (Trader Joe's), an Aveda salon as well as other spas, and a variety of eateries.
Dining options include local bakeries, chocolate and cupcake shops, various casual, sit-down chains like Chipotle, Jimmy John's, and Panera Bread and sit down restaurants including PF Changs, The Melting Pot (restaurant), and The Cheesecake Factory.
At present Louis Vuitton, Anthropologie, Burberry, Henri Bendel, Tumi, kate spade New York, Michael Kors, Tiffany & Co, Crate & Barrel, Madewell, C. Wonder, Apple Store, Marmi,The Lego Store, Paper Source, Hot Mama, The Art of Shaving, The Buckle, Coach, Inc, Chico's (clothing retailer), lululemon athletica, Pottery Barn, Sephora, Janie and Jack, True Religion, See's Candies, J. Crew, Banana Republic, and Talbots are located at the Center.
In August, 2013 an American girl store opened. In December, 2013, Tesla Motors opened a 2,600-square-foot showroom featuring the all-electric Model S. Both were firsts for Ohio.
History
The area that Easton Town Center now exists on was originally intended to be an expansion of Limited Brands. However, shifting demographics in central Ohio in the 1980's and 1990's made the potential greater. Instead of following in the typical path of large, indoor malls the retail development (co-developed by The Georgetown Company and Steiner + Associates) was instead turned to an outdoor lifestyle center. Easton Town Center became one of the first in the country. A trend that became much more prevalent in the 2000's. Easton Town Center was one of the first outdoor shopping centers to incorporate indoor parking, town squares, various fountains, and varying types of tenants.
A real estate project of Les Wexner, the founder, chairman and CEO of nearby Limited Brands, Easton comprises 1,800,000 square feet (170,000 m2) of retail space built upon approximately 90 acres (360,000 m2) within a larger 1,300-acre (5 km2) development. The 90-acre (360,000 m2) retail development was co-developed by The Georgetown Company and Steiner + Associates, with M+A Architects serving as the Architect of Record, while the overall 1,300-acre (5 km2)
Phase I (the South District) opened in the summer of 1999. It now includes tenants such as AMC, Forever XXI, Crate & Barrel, and The Cheesecake Factory. It was also the site of the first ever Hollister Co. store which opened in 2000.
Phase II (the "Fashion District") opened in the fall of 2001. It includes tenants such as McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant, Nordstrom, Macy's, and The Apple Store. The North District is also home to a large circular fountain.
Crate & Barrel constructed a location at Easton in 2004 and the South Garage was built to expand the number of parking spaces.
HOMAGE opened its 2nd retail location in the summer of 2012.
In late 2013 the newest expansion was completed: the Easton Gateway development. The district, with a focus on service tenants, expanded the mixed use area by 500,000 square feet. The first tenant to open was Costco which did so in October, 2013. Other tenants scheduled to open in the first half of 2014 include REI, Field and Stream, Saks Off 5th, and Whole Foods.
Easton area is a partnership between Limited Brands and The Georgetown Company.
Easton Town Center is currently leased and managed by Steiner + Associates.
Gallery
-
AMC Easton 30
-
Town Square Pop Fountains
-
new Victoria's Secret opened Summer 2012
-
Easton Station Building
-
North District Fountain area
-
Madewell
-
LUSH Handmade Cosmetics
-
Holiday Lighting Ceremony
-
Movies By Moonlight
-
Town Square Train
-
Easton Art Affair
Awards
In 2000, Easton Town Center received the ICSC award for Innovative Design of a New Project.[citation needed]
In November 2000, Easton Town Center received the Professional Groups Management Honor Award from the Professional Grounds Management Society & Landscape Management Magazine.
In 2003, Easton Town Center received the Business First award for #1 Shopping Center in Greater Columbus.
In 2003, Easton Town Center Received the America's Best Restroom award for having family-friendly restrooms.
In 2008, Easton Town Center received the 36th Annual Landscape Awards Grand Award from Ohio Nursery & landscape Association.
In 2009, Easton Town Center Received the International Council of Shopping Centers Foundation award for US Community Support Award for the Central Region
In 2011, Easton Town Center was listed as Top Five Most Innovative Malls in the World list, according to the trade publication Inside Retail.
References
External links
- Official site
- m+a architects, Architect of record
- The Georgetown Company, project developer
- Steiner + Associates, project developer
- Bluejackets Special Hockey Official Website
