Polaris’s Easton-style makeover began today:

The cost of the new outdoor lifestyle redevelopment was reported by mall organizers to cost $45 million.

The new dining and shopping area, officials said, will span 160,000 square feet and feature trees and green space.

“I think people are going back to the Main Street type shopping experience” said David Meleca, the President of Meleca Architecture. “Where they can walk up to the shop and be part of the outdoors.”

It won’t be finished until the end of next year- in time for Christmas no doubt. Speaking of Easton, the wider Easton development is looking to expand:

Easton’s master developer hopes to add 1 million square feet of offices at the northeast Columbus complex in the next decade in a proposed community reinvestment area.

The reinvestment area and a related development agreement between Columbus and Easton land developer Morso Holding Co. are projected to generate $150 million in projects and create 4,000 jobs over the next 10 years.

(Via Columbus RetroMetro.)

Here’s a nicely written article from ThisWeek on the drama surrounding Wal-Mart’s application to the Delaware Planning Commission to build a store up there.

This time, the result was different. After being rejected twice by the planning commission and once by city council last year, Wal-Mart on Wednesday received approval of revised, preliminary plans for the supercenter by a 6-1 vote.

Despite continued protests from a number of neighbors of the store’s proposed site, the company received initial support to build a 176,312-square-foot retail and grocery center on 22.12 acres in the as-yet undeveloped Shoppes at Delaware. It also received early nods for planned outdoor storage displays.

Lots of complaints about the sheer size of it, and the fact that the store plans to be open 24 hours a day. Wal-Mart counters that they will “provide 250 new jobs, additional tax revenues and hopefully a longer term relationship with the overall community.”

Delaware Sheriff Al Myers has been charged with a couple of misdemeanors:

One of the misdemeanors involves a conflict of interest for allegedly using a dealership where is son worked to purchase cars for the sheriff’s office, 10TV’s Angela An reported.

The money allegedly came from seized drug money so taxpayers did not lose anything, An reported.

Sounds relatively minor, but anyone who works for the government really ought to be aware of such things. I would guess he was. (Does this say anything about Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame?)

The other charge is for moonlighting as a security consultant for the Delaware County Fair.