Right Now Downtown

Without question, Downtown Columbus is the most underserved retail location in Central Ohio.  With 100,000 employees; 5,500 residents; 250,000 overnight hotel guest; 31,000 college students; 65,000 in-town residents in the Short North, German Village and surrounding areas; and millions of day visitors to the Arena District, Convention Center, theatres and museums, there is significant demand for retail services.  But since the collapse of City Center, downtown has lost its retail sector and the ability to attract corporate retails stores.

Without a major developer pulling those corporate chains downtown, they likely won’t reemerge anytime soon.  But that does not mean that downtown cannot attract retailers.  Independent and start-up retail are the likely players in downtown’s retail future.  But after years of negative coverage surrounding City Center’s demise, there is a negative perception of downtown retail.

Capital Crossroads SID and the City of Columbus have developed a new retail initiative to educate independent and start-up retailers about downtown to and to help overcome the misperceptions that abound.  Announced by Boyce Safford, Director of the City’s Development Department, at the Capital Crossroads Annual Meeting in November, the City is offering several incentives to entice retailers downtown.

The incentives, which apply to the “Mile on High” are on High Street from Spring Street to Mound Street and from Front Street to Fourth Street, include cash incentives and tax abatement specifically for retail investments for property owners and retailers.

However, there remains a communication gap.  Work must be done to overcome the misapprehensions retailers hold and to share the information regarding the City incentives.  Relationships need to be built with independent retailers throughout the area to encourage them to consider downtown as a location.

To that end, Kacey Campbell, the former CCSID Promotions Coordinator, has been tapped as the new downtown Retail Recruiter.  Campbell will serve as a “matchmaker”, reaching out to retailers, answering questions, encouraging them to consider downtown, then matching them with leasing agents who can finalize the deal.

For the last four years, Campbell has connected with existing downtown retailers and with the many vendors who participate in the very successful Pearl Market.  She has an understanding of downtown and believes in its potential.

“There is a huge demand for retail in downtown,” says Campbell.  “It’s a matter of getting accurate information to people and then helping them navigate downtown.  It will take time to see results, but there is good opportunity.”

The seeds of success are already sewn, evidenced by the burgeoning pockets of retail on Gay Street and Fourth Street.  Programs such as this have also proven successful in other cities with a dearth of downtown retail, including Nashville, St. Louis and Minneapolis.  With new incentives from the City and a retail recruiter making the pitch, look for retail to return to the heart of Columbus.

One of the things I really love about urban spaces is the element of surprise, especially when walking.  Stumbling the first time upon Basi Italia in a Victorian Village alley, for example, is a delightful shock.  Franklin Avenue in Discovery District is a totally unanticipated treat.  If you look above J. Gumbo’s at Gay and Pearl, you will unexpectedly see mannequins in mini skirts looking back at you from the second floor window.

Independent businesses offer that same element of surprise.  You never know what to expect when you walk for the first time into a Dine Originals restaurant, for example, except for a great experience.

Few local developers understand the value of surprise better than Jeff Edwards.  He has completed only about 15% of his planned Gay Street condominiums, yet his one-block neighborhood between Fourth and Fifth streets already contains many unexpected treats.  They include a lush courtyard with a fountain and little patios that lead to garden apartments half a flight of steps below the sidewalk.

What other surprises are worth discovering?

Mr. Ruff shares the low down on Shine Me Up (and a tidbit about foot sweat).

Inside 43215: Shine me up from Downtown Columbus on Vimeo.

LITTLE LUXURIES

Want to be top dog?  King of the mountain?  Here’s a little status question to consider:

Does the guy who shines YOUR shoes own a pair of Ferragamos?

No?  It’s time you met Damon Ruff and his new venture: Shine Me Up (37 E. Gay Street).  For the shamefully low price of $6.50, you can afford the luxury of having your shoes shined by someone who is not your mother.  It only takes five minutes, and Ruff’s team will send you away looking and feeling like a millionaire.

Yes, Mr. Ruff owns a pair of Ferragamos.  He knows shoes; he appreciates shoes.  It comes from years in the shoe business – everywhere from Just For Feet to the upscale Nordstrom.  Shining up those shoes takes a little know-how and the right equipment.  Ruff explains, “It starts with saddle soap and horsehair brush, then the right color and more brush… it really takes polishing and moisture to bring out the gloss.”

And it takes a little magic: the proprietor is charismatic like that.  Just talking to him puts a little spring in your step.  Shine Me Up has products and does repairs too.  It’s truly a great (and affordable) luxury for yourself or someone who deserves a little royal treatment.

Highlights from Independents’ Day, September 19.

Inside 43215: Independents Day Montage from Downtown Columbus on Vimeo.

Downtown Cleveland looks great.  My son and I stayed there on Saturday night during our annual trip to see the Indians play the Reds.  We stayed at the Residence Inn, which is located in the historic Colonial Arcade.  The Colonial is across Euclid Avenue from the grand Cleveland Arcade, which houses the Hyatt Regency.

Euclid Avenue has been rebuilt as a shared busway and public street and has sleek, accordion buses that run frequently enough they can be used without consulting a schedule.  Property owners along Euclid continue to renovate buildings for housing and retail, and virtually every building between Public Square and East Ninth Street is now renovated or under construction.

My favorite building is an upscale restaurant and bowling alley at Euclid and Fourth.  A comparable location for a bowling alley in Columbus would be North High and Gay Streets.  The bowling alley’s restaurant spills onto East Fourth, which is a sea of tables and chairs serving 11 restaurants.  Flowers and lighting make the street incredibly inviting.

Cleveland is definitely a city worth visiting.