Easton Town Center

Easton Town Center

File:Easton logo.jpg Easton Logo
Location	Columbus, Ohio
Coordinates	40°3′7″N 82°54′55″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 indoor and outdoor shopping complex in northeast Columbus, Ohio, United States. The core buildings and streets that comprise Easton are intended to look like a self-contained "town", reminiscent of American towns and cities in the early-to-mid 20th century. Included in the design are fountains, streets laid out in a grid pattern surrounded by a continuous loop, and metered storefront parking. A variety of stores, restaurants, and service-oriented businesses occupy structures of varying sizes, most of which are contiguous, having shared walls. Many of these structures have a similar external appearance. Also included are traditional shopping mall features like large, multi-floor department stores, small kiosks located in the indoor common areas, a cinema complex, ATM machines, and both covered and open parking structures. Easton attracts roughly 25 million visitors per year.

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 30-screen AMC Dine-In Movie Theatre, and T-Mobile USA. Parking garages are scattered throughout.

Shops range from mall mainstays like American Eagle Outfitters, 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), California Pizza Kitchen, and The Cheesecake Factory.

At present, Louis Vuitton, Anthropologie, Burberry, Henri Bendel, Tumi, Kate Spade New York, Michael Kors, Tiffany & Co, Madewell, Apple Store, The Lego Store, Paper Source, and more 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.

Marmi, Michael Hill, AeroStudio, Athleta, Kona Grill, Zumiez, and BiBiBop were new additions in 2014. Vineyard Vines opened in February 2015 at Easton Town Center.

2015 also saw additional tenants moving into Easton Gateway, an expanded section of Easton Town Center, which now contains BJ's Brewhouse, Beauty Brands, Charming Charlie, Chuy's, Fusian, Golf Galaxy, J Alexanders, Melt Bar & Grilled, Pies & Pints, REI, Whole Foods Market and others. Easton Gateway also houses a Dick's Sporting Goods / Field and Stream flagship store.

Easton Gateway is expected to add additional tenants in 2016, including CycleBar, fab'rik, Ted's Montana Grill, Elm & Iron, and Marbles: The Brain Store.

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 1980s and 1990s 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 2000s. 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 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 2015 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 restaurants and retailers, including REI, Field and Stream, Saks Off 5th, J. Alexanders, and MELT Bar and Grilled Whole Foods are now open at the development.

The 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.

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.

External links

• Official site
• Easton Way Blog
• m+a architects, Architect of record
• The Georgetown Company, project developer
• Steiner + Associates, project developer
• Bluejackets Special Hockey Official Website