Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The inventor of the open-air mall has a new idea — the mall that you never leave.
Axios’ Erica Pandey reports: Yaromir Steiner is trying out his newest brainchild here in Columbus — a town-in-a-mall with 700 apartments, along with almost any sort of shop that might strike you. Working against him this time, though, is a national wave of millennials moving into cities, not suburbia — not to mention the burning question: Are there really 700 Columbians dying to live in a mall?
- Steiner is convinced that he and his co-developers are on to something — a real town where you can live, work, shop for groceries, go out to eat, go to clubs on Saturday nights, and so on.
- What makes him so confident: For decades, marketers have treated Columbus as a testbed of new products, as its population is a close microcosm of the country. And, after 20 years in Columbus retail, Steiner thinks he knows what will work and what won’t.
- He tells Axios that he is spending $500 million on the bet.
The backdrop: Many U.S. malls are failing — as of last year, there were about 1,200, and analysts say perhaps a quarter will close over the next four or so years.
But, but, but: Steiner’s vision is to beef up Columbus’ already-sprawling Easton Town Center, which is among the U.S. malls that still thrive, as brick-and-mortar retail continues to account for some 90% of U.S. retail spending.
By the numbers: Steiner co-developed Easton starting two decades ago on a 90-acre spread of land. It already contains a dizzying 240 stores. In addition to new apartments, Steiner is adding a new hotel and 12 more acres of retail and office space.
- Not everyone thinks he is right. “I’ve never heard anyone, when they’re shopping for houses, who says, ‘Easton.’ It strikes me as completely odd to live there,” says Bart Elmore, a professor at Ohio State University and a Columbus resident.
- But Steiner is sticking to his plan. “People love it here,” he says. “Soon we’ll have our Christmas tree lighting, and it’s a big Columbus event now.”
The mall is built around walkable squares and main streets, instead of in a big concrete box.
- Easton has mall staples like Nordstrom and J. Crew, but also a comedy club and a futuristic pod called “Shop Lab,” a concept launched a month ago where online-only brands try out physical retail.
- Dining options include food court favorites like Five Guys and Sbarro as well as five-star restaurants run by famous Columbus chefs.
Steiner says that neither the e-commerce juggernaut nor the mall implosion daunt him.
“Easton was set up for the e-commerce future 20 years ago. We are online proof.“
— Yaromir Steiner