Continental to chase Northland tenants - Business First of Columbus:

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The Columbus brokerage will market the property for Columbuse UrbanGrowth Corp., the group the city has directecd to redevelop the 84-acrre Morse Road site, renamed Northland Park. Urban Growtj President David Baker said the organizationm needed outside expertise to sort through hundredsa ofrestaurant prospects. "We don't know who thosed people are or how to market tothem effectively," Bakefr said. Continental beat out competition from nine brokerageds that Urban Growth soughf forthe task. Continental, CB Richarrd Ellis, Ohio Equities and Columbus Commercial Realty went througha two-leve screening for the job.
Continentalk "has done far more restaurants with entirely different suchas Easton, the Arena District and theit own (development) accounts," Baket said. "They've also done tons of Urban Growth doesn't want the retail outparcel s anda 50,000- to 60,000-square-foort retail complex to drain tenant from nearby shopping centers. "It has to be a limitecd amount sowe don't compete with the retaipl along Morse Road," Bakerr said. He conceded a few Morse Road retailers may move toNorthlane Park. Those prospects were not identified. Urban Growth leasesd the former Northland site through the city undera 99-yearf agreement.
The agency directed the creationh of several vision plans as it worker through the summer to rezone the property underf thecommercial C-4 designation. Those plans will be changes as concepts become real Larry Ritter, Continental Realty's president, expects the brokerage to help refines those plans as tenant candidates step "We're going to work with them to figurw out what's the most effective way to repositiohn what was Northland and bring it back as a greayt asset to the city and, particularly, to that he said. Ritter suggested the residentiakl density and income leveol of the neighborhood should make the complex attractive to restaurant chainsand retailers.
"We think there's a lot of potentia l there," he said. "It can be a greaft site for a numberof retailers." Continental Real Estate development arm has plenty of experience at It joined Casto Developmentr in transforming the former Lennox factory site near Ohio State Universith into a retail and entertainmentr center. In Pittsburgh, it took a former stee l mill site and createdthe mixed-used Waterfrong project. As Continental moves to attract Urban Growth will monitorthe $1.1 millionh demolition of the retail space connecting Northland's former anchor storez - J.C.
Penney, Sears and Demolition is scheduled to begin in January to disconnectf the Lazarus building from the enclosed Retail Ventures, the parent of Value City Departmen Stores, plans to convert that 305,000-square-foot Lazarus building into its administrativde offices. The other anchor department stores and the former Generalo Cinema movie theater will not see the wrecking ball untilk Urban Growth exhausts redevelopmentt opportunities forthose buildings.