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(April, 2005) - A recent market analysis of the retail and office trends that define and impact the City of Upper Arlington, affirm the community's Master Plan vision and assumptions remain on target. Four years into Master Plan implementation, this news confirms that the City's leaders and administrators should continue to make decisions using the spirit and letter of this important goal-setting document.

The study, contracted with consultant Christopher Boring of Boulevard Strategies reveals that Upper Arlington is over-served by retail square footage, evidenced by a 19% vacancy rate, versus a 12% vacancy rate in Columbus or the national average of 8%. In contrast, the study indicates that Upper Arlington has an unmet office demand and can likely absorb up to 20,000 square feet in new office space per year, integrated into commercial districts with a mixture of uses.

A Celebrated Retail History
Recent upgrades made to some of our retail centers, most notably the Shops on Lane Avenue, have greatly improved residents' shopping experience. The reality is, however, that Upper Arlington is no longer the regional shopping destination it once was…and with the glut of increased competition in the region, it probably never will be again.

The report captures Upper Arlington's renowned retail history and applauds the community's desire to take a new direction. A tradition of retail excellence began in the 1920s with the Mallway on Arlington Avenue. When the Lane Avenue Shopping Center opened in 1949, followed by the Tremont Center in 1953, people from neighboring suburbs began to visit Upper Arlington's retail centers. The mid-1950s saw the opening of the Golden Bear and Scioto View centers at Fishinger and Riverside. Nothing compared, however, to the debut of the Kingsdale Shopping Center in 1959.

In the 1960s, competition began to have an impact, first with the opening of malls such as Northland and Eastland, then with the unique mixed-use centers like The Continent in the 1970s. Sawmill Road became king of the 1980s "big box" era. From the 1990s until today, large destination centers like City Center, Tuttle Mall, Easton, and Polaris have all but erased the memory of Kingsdale to regional shoppers.

Today, Upper Arlington is served by nine shopping centers and three large-scale stores, with 29.7 square feet of shopping space per capita, compared to 26.7 square feet/capita for Columbus and 23.2 square feet/capita nationally. Based on resident and daytime worker spending habits (demand), Boulevard Strategies estimates Upper Arlington can support 1.65 million square feet of retail space (not the 2.1 million square feet presently available). From this information, a need to focus on the right mix of retail is more important than creating more retail space in Upper Arlington.

Office Market Opportunities
Upper Arlington has approximately 1,000 businesses with 9,400 employees. More than 75% have been here at least 10 years, which is excellent news. Despite the high office vacancy rate in Greater Columbus, with steadily declining rents, Upper Arlington's office vacancy rate is much lower - at the time of this study between 11-14% - compared to the regional average of 24%.

Upper Arlington does not have industry-defined Class A office space, with much of the existing space aging with modest finishes and amenities and ranked as Class B or C spaces. Interestingly, Upper Arlington office space is achieving higher than the regional average rental rates. Combined, these and other factors cited by Boring suggest Upper Arlington has an unmet office demand.

The Boulevard Strategies report reassures the City it is on the right path with development aspirations. At this point in time, the Master Plan is still relevant in its long-term vision, with plans for undertaking periodic market studies in the future to assure that it continues to stand the test of time.

The Boulevard Strategies report, entitled "Market Analysis for Retail and Office Uses, Upper Arlington, Ohio," can be obtained from the City's website, at www.ua-ohio.net, under the Business & Development section. For additional details, please call
Patty Dalton, Deputy City Manager - Economic Development, at 583-5046.