NORTHLAND CENTER
Morse and Karl Roads
Franklin County (Columbus), Ohio
NORTHLAND, Greater Columbus' first mall-type shopping complex, was one of three directionally-designated centers that were built in the city's rapidly-expanding suburbs during the 1960s. EASTLAND CENTER, the capital city's first fully-enclosed mall, was dedicated in February 1968. WESTLAND CENTER opened for business in February 1969.
Open-air in format, NORTHLAND CENTER was built on an 84-acre tract, located 6.5 miles north of the Ohio State House. The site was originally within an unincorporated section of Franklin County known as Mifflin Township. It was eventually annexed into the Columbus city limits. The mall was designed by the Grossel & Jensen firm and developed by Cleveland's Visconsi, Mead-Jacobs Company (a precursor of the Richard E. Jacobs Group).
Ground was broken in June 1963, with a formal dedication held on August 13, 1964. There were two anchors in the original 710,000 square foot complex; a 3-level (185,000 square foot), Columbus-based F & R Lazarus and 2-level (212,900 square foot) Sears. Junior anchors were a (25,400 square foot) Columbus-based Union Company and (28,500 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10.
Among the forty-three original stores and services were Rogers Jewelers, Lerner Shops, Madison's ladies' wear, Gray Drug and (16,600 square foot) Albers supermarket. The in-mall Cincinnati Theaters Company Northland Cinema showed its first feature as part of the mall's August 1964 grand opening. Lazarus would be enlarged in 1968 and 1974, with the store covering 228,000 square feet.
By 1975, a major mall renovation was underway. Courts and concourses were enclosed and climate-controlled and the movie house twinned. It re-opened, as the General Cinema Corporation Northland Cinema I & II, on October 24, 1975. With all construction completed, the shopping hub, now promoted as NORTHLAND MALL, encompassed approximately 804,800 leasable square feet. A 2-level (182,000 square foot) J.C. Penney was added to the south side in 1979. This expanded the mall's gross leasable area to approximately 986,800 square feet.
The original cinema was shuttered on April 21, 1985. The General Cinema Corporation Northland 8, a freestanding multiplex, was built in the southeast parking area. It opened on December 11, 1985. A 9-bay Food Court was installed in a vacant Woolworth space in 1995.
The once-thriving NORTHLAND MALL was on a downward trajectory by the turn of the 20th century. Its first major rival, COLUMBUS CITY CENTER {5 miles south, in downtown Columbus} made its debut in August 1989. MALL AT TUTTLE CROSSING {8.1 miles northwest, in Columbus} was dedicated in July 1997. EASTON TOWN CENTER {3.5 miles east, in Columbus} was inaugurated in June 1999.
The final blow to NORTHLAND came in November 2001, with the completion of POLARIS FASHION PLACE {5.5 miles north, in Delaware County}. This fully-enclosed, upscale mall snatched all three anchor stores from NORTHLAND. The mall was left anchorless and populated by several mom & pop-type tenants. Most of the major, national chain stores had moved to either EASTON or POLARIS.
A virtually vacant NORTHLAND MALL closed for good on October 9, 2002. The past-its-prime property had been sold to the Columbus Urban Growth Corporation, a consortium of city officials and local businessmen. Their plan, referred to as NorthPARK, proposed to redevelop the greyfield site as a mixed-use retail, office and residential complex.
Demolition of the mall started in January 2004, leaving the Sears, J.C. Penney and Lazarus buildings; the latter being renovated into offices for the Ohio Department of Taxation. The Sears structure was eventually demolished. The land parcel was to be dissected by new city streets. Traffic signals were to be installed, along with sidewalks and landscaping. Unfortunately, the NorthPARK project never got off the ground. Home Depot, plotted to anchor the new complex, backed out of the deal in late 2006.
The 8-screen cinema, which had closed in 2000, was purchased by Vaud-Villities, a local theater group. It became a venue for live productions and rehearsals. In 2010, the theater, which had been renamed the Northland Performing Arts Center, moved into a new space in the old J.C. Penney structure. The remainder of the Penney's building was renovated and retenanted by the Franklin County Department of Job & Family services.
Columbus Urban Growth sold the NorthPARK site in March 2008; the buyer being the Gahanna, Ohio-based Stonehenge Company. They announced a revised plan for redevelopment. In the new proposal, an 80 million dollar retail and office center, known as NORTHLAND VILLAGE, would be implemented in three phases.
Eau Claire, Wisconsin-based Menards broke ground on a 1-level (220,000 square foot) Mega Store in May 2010. The grand opening was held April 12, 2011. Several freestanding structures were added to the site. These included McDonald's, Telhio Credit Union, Tim Horton's, Chipotle Mexican Grill and John's Gourmet Sandwiches. The final phase of the NORTHLAND VILLAGE project entailed construction of a 1-level (108,000 square foot) Kroger supermarket. This store opened its doors on October 19, 2016.
Sources:
The Columbus Dispatch
The Ohio Jewish Chronicle (Columbus, Ohio)
"Dual Anchor Shopping Centers 1952-1965" / Richard Longstreth
http://www.rejacobsgroup.com / The Richard E. Jacobs Group (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https://www.cinematreasures.org
https://www.urbangrowth.org / "NorthlandPARK"
https://www.vvproductions.com / Vaud-Villities Productions / "NorthlandPARK"
http://www.stonehenge-company.com
https://www.thisweeknews.com
"Lazarus" and "Eastland Mall" articles on Wikipedia
