Easton Town Center is a large mixed-use town center in Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

, United States. It is designed to look like a classic American main street, with public spaces, fountains, a street grid, and metered storefront parking.

A real estate project of Les Wexner

Les Wexner

Leslie "Les" H. Wexner is an American businessman from Columbus, Ohio, and currently chairman and CEO of the Limited Brands corporation.-Professional:...

, the founder, chairman and CEO of nearby Limited Brands

Limited Brands

Limited Brands is an American apparel company based in Columbus, Ohio. In 2009 it reported 9.04 billion dollars in revenue for the last fiscal year.-History:...

, Easton comprises 1800000 square feet (167,225.5 m²) of retail space built upon approximately 90 acres (364,217.4 m²) within a larger 1300 acres (5 km²) development. The 90 acres (364,217.4 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 1300 acres (5 km²) Easton area is a partnership between Limited Brands and The Georgetown Company. Easton Town Center is currently leased and managed by Steiner + Associates.

Construction

• 1990–1998: Planning and infrastructure development
• 1996: Easton Market, Target & Lowe's
• 1997: Chase Manhattan Residential Mortgage HQ; Easton Chiller
• 1998: Easton Oval; Sports Barn; Soccer Fields open 55 acres (222,577.3 m²)
• 1999: Easton Town Center Phase I; Easton Hilton
• 2000: Easton Commons Apartments; Marriott Residence Inn
• 2001: Expansion (Phase II) Fashion District; acquisition of 100 acre (0.404686 km²) for development
• 2003: Easton Commons Phase II; Marriott Courtyard
• 2004: Easton exceeds 30,000 jobs created; $80 million in taxes annually
• 2005: Lane Bryant Headquarters open at Easton bringing total office development over 3,000,000 sf
• 2006: Germain Luxury Auto Center
• 2007: The Offices at Easton Station; Alliance Data Systems
• 2008: Safe Auto HQ opens, completing development of Easton Oval
• 2009: Easton generates over $120 million in taxes annually

Phase I (the South District) opened in the summer of 1999. It now includes tenants such as AMC

AMC Theatres

AMC Theatres , officially known as AMC Entertainment, Inc., is the second largest movie theater chain in North America with 5,325 screens, second only to Regal Entertainment Group, and one of the United States's four national cinema chains AMC Theatres (American Multi-Cinema), officially known as...

, Forever XXI, Crate & Barrel

Crate and Barrel

Crate & Barrel is a 170+ store chain of American retail stores, based in Northbrook, Illinois, specializing in housewares, furniture , and home accessories. Its corporate name is Euromarket Designs, Inc. The company is wholly owned by Otto GmbH.-Founding:Gordon and Carole Segal opened the first...

, The Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory

The Cheesecake Factory, Inc. is a restaurant company in the United States. The company operates 165 upscale, casual, full-service dining restaurants: 151 under The Cheesecake Factory mark, 13 under the Grand Lux Cafe mark and one under the RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen mark...

, Restoration Hardware

Restoration Hardware

Restoration Hardware is an American furniture chain of home furnishings, bath fixtures and bathware, functional and decorative hardware and related merchandise. The company defines its wares as classic and authentic American. Restoration Hardware, Inc. sells its merchandise offering through its...

, Barnes and Noble, Brio Tuscan Grille, PF Chang's, J.Crew

J.Crew

J.Crew Group, Inc. is a multi-brand, multi-channel, specialty retailer. The company offers an assortment of women's, men's and children's apparel and accessories, including swimwear, outerwear, loungewear, wedding, bags, hair accessories, belts, jewelry, and shoes. As of January 30, 2010, it...

, Panera Bread

Panera Bread

Panera Bread is a chain of bakery–café quick casual restaurants in the United States and Canada that sells breads, sandwiches, soups, salads, and other bakery items. Its headquarters are in Sunset Hills, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.-Corporate history:In 1993, Au Bon Pain Co...

, Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch is an American retailer that focuses on casual wear for consumers aged 18 to 22. It has over 300 locations in the United States, and is expanding internationally....

, Starbucks

Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...

, Gap

Gap (clothing retailer)

The Gap, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008,...

, Williams-Sonoma

Williams-Sonoma

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is a high-end American consumer retail company that sells kitchenwares, furniture and linens, as well as other housewares and home furnishings, along with a variety of specialty foods, soaps and lotions...

, Lacoste, White House Black Market

White House Black Market

White House | Black Market is an American fashion store targeting women 25 years of age and older. White House | Black Market is known for its sleek lines, and its focus on white, black, and other variants of the two colors...

, Talbots

Talbots

Talbots is a specialty retailer and direct marketer of women’s classic clothing, shoes and accessories. Established in 1947, the company sells items such as the blazer, trench, white shirt, ballet flats and pearls....

, Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn is an American-based home furnishing store chain with retail stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Since September 1986, when it was purchased from GAP, Inc, Pottery Barn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma, Inc....

, and GameStop

GameStop

GameStop Corporation is an American video game and entertainment software retailer. The company, whose headquarters is in Grapevine, Texas, United States, operates 6,500 retail stores throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New...

. (It once contained a Virgin Megastore, which closed in May 2004 and was replaced by Crate & Barrel. During construction of Crate & Barrel the South Garage was built to expand the number of parking spaces.) 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.

Phase II (the "Fashion District") opened in the fall of 2001. It includes tenants such as Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany & Co. is an American jewelry and silverware company. As part of its branding, the company is strongly associated with its Tiffany Blue , which is a registered trademark.- History :...

, McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant, Nordstrom

Nordstrom

Nordstrom, Inc. is an upscale department store chain in the United States, founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin. Initially a shoe retailer, the company today also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishings...

, Arden B, Macy's

Macy's

Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...

, The Apple Store, Express, Bon Vie Bistro & Bar, Abuelos, C. O. Bigelow, Henri Bendel

Henri Bendel

Henri Bendel is an American upscale women's specialty store based in New York City that sells fashion accessories, cosmetics and fragrances, gifts and gourmet foods...

, bebe

Bebe stores

bebe stores are an American clothing retailer founded in 1976. The name was inspired by, and is pronounced as in, the phrase "to be or not to be" from the play Hamlet. Manny Mashouf, who emigrated to the United States in the early 1970s, opened the first bebe store in San Francisco during a time...

, Coach, Smith & Wollensky, Godiva

Godiva (chocolatier)

Godiva Chocolatier is a manufacturer of premium chocolates and related products. Godiva, founded in Belgium in 1926, was purchased by Turkish Yıldız Holding, owner of the Ülker Group, on Nov 20th, 2007...

, Burberry

Burberry

Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house, manufacturing clothing, fragrance, and fashion accessories. Its distinctive tartan pattern has become one of its most widely copied trademarks. Burberry is most famous for its iconic trench coat, which was invented by founder Thomas Burberry...

, BCBG Max Azria, Anthropologie

Anthropologie

Anthropologie is a chain of retail stores that sells women's apparel and accessories, home furnishings, imitation found objects and an array of gifts and decorative items.Headquartered in Philadelphia, the company is owned by Urban Outfitters, Inc...

, Brighton Collectibles, The Limited, J. Jill, American Eagle

American Eagle Outfitters

American Eagle Outfitters is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1977 by Mark and Jerry Silverman as a subsidiary of Retail Ventures, Inc., a company which also owned and operated Silverman's Menswear...

, The Children's Place

The Children's Place

The Children’s Place is an American specialty retailer of children’s apparel and accessories founded in 1969. They became publicly traded on the NASDAQ exchange in 1997 under the ticker symbol PLCE...

, Brookstone, Cosi, Aveda

Aveda

Aveda Corporation is a company headquartered in Blaine, Minnesota, that manufactures skin care, cosmetics, perfume, hair care products, and trains students in cosmetology and esthiology at the Aveda Institutes in Minneapolis, New York City, Washington, DC, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and many other...

, DELiA*s

Delia's

dELiA*s, Inc. is a direct marketing and retail company composed of two lifestyle brands primarily targeting girls and young women between the ages of 13 and 19. Delia's also is popular amongst college aged women as many of its clothing and accessories are mature and affordable for college aged...

, Lucky Brand Jeans

Lucky Brand Jeans

Lucky Brand Jeans is a designer denim company founded in Vernon, California, United States in 1990 by Gene Montesano and Barry Perlman. Lucky Brand is a subsidiary of the Liz Claiborne fashion company. Lucky also produces sportswear, outerwear, T-shirts and active wear. Lucky Brand products are...

, L'Occitane en Provence, GNC

General Nutrition Centers

General Nutrition Centers is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based American commercial enterprise focused on the retail sale of health and nutrition related products, including vitamins, supplements, minerals, herbs, sports nutrition, diet & energy products.-History:In 1935, David Shakarian opened a...

, Gymboree, and Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret is an American retailer of women's wear, lingerie and beauty products. It is the largest segment of publicly-traded Limited Brands with sales of over US$5 billion and an operating income of $1 billion in 2006...

. The North District is also home to a large circular fountain.

The first ever Hollister Co.

Hollister Co.

Hollister Co., sometimes advertised as Hollister or HCo., is an American lifestyle brand by Abercrombie & Fitch Co. The concept was originally designed to attract consumers aged 14–18 through its SoCal-inspired image and casual wear. Goods are available in-store and through the company's online store...

 store was opened in 2000 at Easton.

Awards

In 2000, Easton Town Center received the ICSC

International Council of Shopping Centers

Founded in 1957, the International Council of Shopping Centers is the global trade association of the shopping center industry. Its 60,000 members in the U.S., Canada and more than 80 other countries include shopping center owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, lenders,...

 award for Innovative Design of a New Project.

Expansion

Recent expansion at Easton Town Center included the addition of Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany & Co. is an American jewelry and silverware company. As part of its branding, the company is strongly associated with its Tiffany Blue , which is a registered trademark.- History :...

 and the expansion of Henri Bendel

Henri Bendel

Henri Bendel is an American upscale women's specialty store based in New York City that sells fashion accessories, cosmetics and fragrances, gifts and gourmet foods...

 on the northeast corner of the Central Park Fountain, as well as the addition of the M/I Homes

M/I Homes

M/I Homes is a United States homebuilding company based in Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1976 as M/I Schottenstein Homes, M/I Homes now operates under two brands: M/I Homes and Showcase Homes...

 Design Center on Gramercy Street. These three projects have been completed and are now open.

In the summer of 2009, a LEGO store opened in the newly-constructed building across from the AMC theater along with The North Face

The North Face

The North Face, Inc. is an American outdoor product company specializing in outerwear, fleece, shirts, footwear, and equipment such as backpacks, tents, and sleeping bags....

 opening right next door to California Pizza Kitchen

California Pizza Kitchen

California Pizza Kitchen , known within the food industry as CPK, is a casual dining restaurant chain that specializes in California-style pizza...

.

The south-east section of the Easton Town Center includes for a variety of companies, including Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial

The Prudential Insurance Company of America , also known as Prudential Financial, Inc., is a Fortune Global 500 and Fortune 500 company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services to both retail and institutional customers throughout the...

, Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....

, and Mission Essential Personnel

Mission Essential Personnel

Mission Essential Personnel is an American professional services corporation offering human-capital solutions and program support to government and corporate clients. MEP is the U.S. government’s primary provider of translators and interpreters for the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan...

.

Security

Easton has an age-restricted curfew of 8:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. People under the age of 16 are not permitted in the interior areas of the center without an adult present. People over 16 are permitted if they present valid government-issued photo identification. The reason for the curfew that is most commonly cited by the Easton security staff is the change from a "family-oriented" environment during the day with more emphasis on the shopping to a more "adult-oriented" venue during the night with more of an emphasis on the upscale restaurants, bars, and nightclubs.

External links

• Official site
• m+a architects, Architect of record
  Architect of record
  Architect of record is the architect or architecture firm whose name appears on a building permit issued for a specific project on which that architect or firm performed services. Building permits are issued by a government agency with the authority in a certain jurisdiction to regulate building...
  
  
• The Georgetown Company, project developer
• Steiner + Associates, project developer