Eastland community plan plots area's future
Columbus has unveiled a massive plan to redevelop the Eastland Mall area.
Why it matters: Once anchored by a bustling, million-square-foot retail center, Eastland declined for decades before the mall closed in 2022 and was declared a public nuisance.
Driving the news: The Eastland for Everyone plan was unveiled Thursday at nearby Barnett Community Center. It proposes a variety of housing projects, businesses and community spaces for the former mall site and surrounding area.
Columbus spent 18 months and $885,000 to develop the 280-page plan through resident focus groups and public workshops.
What they found: Focus groups helped the city identify "8 Big Ideas" to guide development, including housing, entrepreneurship, youth education and job opportunities.
What they're saying: Eastland neighborhood program specialist Noelle Britt says public outreach focused on residents' needs was critical to the plan's development and its potential for success.
"A lot of times, community members feel like (development) happens to them, not in partnership alongside them," she tells Axios. "It was important for us to take the time to listen and learn."
Flashback: The area's modern history began in 1956, when land began being annexed into Columbus.
Eastland Mall opened in 1968.
Starting in the 1980s, the area experienced population decline, disinvestment, aging housing and a steep decline in traffic, shifting from destination to bedroom community.
By 2022, it was Columbus' fifth-highest ZIP code for reported crime, with about half of its residents' income at or under 200% of the poverty level.
Context: The area has a much denser population of underserved and difficult-to-reach residents than surrounding neighborhoods.
Of 20,400 residents, 68% identify as Black and 11% are New Americans.
Many residents lack internet access, have limited English proficiency and are experiencing housing or food insecurity.
What's next: With the plan unveiled, now the real work begins.
Neighborhood strategies manager Patrice Allen Brady says the plan "creates the space for organizations and institutions and other stakeholders to step in and say, 'You know what? I can do this work.'"
She pointed to plans in Linden and the Hilltop that spurred investment from the likes of Nationwide and the Mid-Ohio Food Collective.
The bottom line: The neighborhood is in need of help, and Britt says she has real hope that Eastland for Everyone will lead to "a significantly improved lived and neighborhood experience" for residents.
"Transformation is not even a large enough word for the potential of this plan."
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