After 54 years of serving shoppers on the city’s far southeast side, the Eastland Mall will be closing permanently on Saturday, December 31st.
Earlier this year, the Columbus City Attorney’s office declared the property a public nuisance due to the owners’ neglect of structural and security issues that made the mall unsafe for shoppers and an eyesore for nearby residents.
The mall has been on a path of steady decline in recent years, with its final two anchors — Sears and Macy’s — shuttering in 2017. A handful of small interior stores and food court vendors have remained operational, but information is vague as owner Eastland Mall Holdings LLC has made few statements or public updates on operations. According to a 10TV report, the mall has been closed to the public since Monday when a water line burst.
While there are no specific plans yet announced as to what will become of the site, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther announced a new focus on the neighborhood surrounding the mall during his annual State of the City address.
“We are also setting our sights on revitalizing the Eastland area, where we will be developing a new community-driven plan like the ones we created for Linden and the Hilltop – which have subsequently received more than $150 million in public and private investments to-date,” said Ginther during the address. “We know how successful these community plans can be – and we look forward to working with our neighbors and businesses in Eastland to make a similar impact.”
New details on what that redevelopment plan could look like have been sparse. A redevelopment plan for the Eastland neighborhood and Hamilton Road corridor was put together in 2007, but few updates have been made from that plan in the years since.
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Photos by Walker Evans.