Columbus' City Center may have witnessed its fate Friday when Federated Department Stores announced it will close its flagship Lazarus in August. The department store had been the symbol of Downtown for 153 years.
But with a fluttering economy and the increase in suburban malls, Lazarus and the rest of City Center has seen its prosperity fall. Lazarus officials claim that sales at the Downtown store have fallen 60 percent since 1995.
City Center's decline has had its effects on the rest of the Downtown area. Once a thriving area for corporate offices and housing, downtown Columbus has fallen victim to the same suburban boom which has plagued City Center. Bank One's move to Chicago in 1998 started the decline, and it hasn't gotten any better. Nationwide plans to move 1,500 jobs to Dublin, and other Ohio companies are eyeing permanent moves to the suburbs.
The picture may not be totally bleak, however. Many consultants have said Downtown may be in the process of reinventing itself with more housing, offices and smaller retailers. Thanks in large part to incentives from the city, the Downtown area is experiencing a small housing boom, and it looks like it will continue. Also, according to a Columbus Dispatch article, the office vacancy rate is slowly improving.
As a major metropolitan city, Columbus should be concerned about the decline of its downtown area. If retailers and corporations continue the mass exodus out of the Downtown area, Columbus may never recover. Current residents will leave, and potential residents may look to the suburbs to start their life.
Losing retailers and City Center certainly won't cause Columbus to implode on itself, but revitalizing the area should be a top priority. If city officials want a blueprint for success, they can look to Chicago's Michigan Avenue. Better known as the Magnificent Mile, this stretch of Michigan Avenue features 3.1 million square feet of retail space, 460 stores and 275 restaurants. It attracts more than 20 million visitors every year and contributes millions of dollars to the Chicago and Illinois economies.
Columbus may not have the resources to recreate a Magnificent Mile, but city officials do have enough to help revitalize what is already there. City Center may not be as flashy and expansive as Polaris or Easton, but Downtown should always be the symbol of prosperity in Columbus, not its decay.
