The politics of malls

Republican Columbus mayoral candidate Bill Todd has slammed incumbent Democratic Mayor Mike Coleman over the lawsuit the city filed against TL-Columbus Associates, the current owner of downtown’s City Center mall:

The only thing Mike Coleman accomplished with this political stunt is to make Columbus look unprofessional and anti-business. That is precisely the opposite message the Mayor should be sending to mall developers, investors, retailers, and other serious professionals who might be able to help us find a solution to City Center’s troubles – something Mike Coleman failed to do during his eight year snooze in City Hall.

But as Buckeye State Blog observes, one of Todd’s ideas was a Keloesque move for the city to take over the mall using eminent domain:

So, let’s get this straight, when a Democratic elected official decides to replace an absentee landlord of a major commerical property project by going to court and declaring that landlord in default so the city can replace the landlord with new developers, that’s heavy-handed, and anti-business. But when a Republican candidate, on the same issue, proposes a more radical plan and instead have the government seize that property by eminent domain… that’s neither heavy-handed or anti-business?

I fail to see much of a difference between the two. Actually, Coleman’s plan is more acceptable since the city is alleging breach of contract- the non-payment of rent- which is fair game. Though I can’t help thinking that there’s more to this story than we’re getting.

I criticized Todd for his land-grab idea back when he first talked about it in May. (Just for those who think I never say anything bad about Republicans.)

The bigger picture here is that Capitol South, which owns the land under City Center and is a private non-profit that acts sort of like the city’s land ownership company, made a mistake when they gave a 90-year lease to TL-Columbus and they’re looking to undo it. TL-Columbus hasn’t done a good job with the mall, but it’s not exactly their fault that enclosed malls are a dying breed, or that downtown malls are a dubious propositon anyway.

Here’s a radical idea: sell the mall and the land to an actual for-profit company and keep government hands out of it.

Trackback | Posted by Brian | Aug 6, 2007 2:18 pm | Permalink | Bookmark
Categories: Columbus, Politics, News

Posted by Modern Esquire | Aug 6, 2007 3:33 pm

I don’t know what the “solution” is for the City Center. I just thought it was shocking that of all the criticisms Todd decided to do about Coleman’s actions, he went with the radical, anti-business approach given his recent even more radical statements.

I’d say management of the mall is one piece of the puzzle. Another is the fact that mall shopping has largely been replaced with internet shopping. The other is the location. As Columbus has grown out with additional exurb shopping centers, the City Center has lost a demographic.

If you look at it’s present location compared to urban residential development, the City Center is not ideally located. Most of the new condos and developments in the City have been closer to the river or in the Arena District (far too far for urban residents to be expected to shop.) I think the closest residential development is the new condos being built on Capitol Square near the Rhodes office building. That may drive the demand for urban shopping up some. But the fact is that malls have been dying out since the 90s. Perhaps if it had a movie theater or some night clubs and catered to the late night urban crowd it could be revitalized. But it’s been years since I’ve lived in Columbus, so who knows?

Posted by R. Lee Ermey | Aug 6, 2007 7:12 pm

good point. i think them should do a combo of retail and living space. here is an idea, how about actually making affordable lofts for young professionals? these condos that are 700 sq ft and $160k is ridiculous. City center would be perfect for 1200 sq ft apartments/lofts for $130k. that would attract YPs.

Posted by Eric | Aug 7, 2007 7:58 pm

Esquire - Just like you can’t expect a couple of Dominion Home developments to support Polaris, you can’t expect a couple thousand downtown residents to singlehandedly support City Center.

R. Lee - 1,200 sqft for $130,000 doesn’t add up and would amount to developers selling at a loss. This is capitalism, premium land goes for premium dollars. “Affordable Downtown Housing” is something of an oxymoron. Remember the three rules of real estate…location, location, and location.

Look around at other cities and you’ll quickly realize that 700 sqft for $160k is a bargain.

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