COSTCO!!!!! COLUMBUS AREA!!!! YIPPEE!!! YAY FOR US!!! FINALLY!!!!!

[mtnester]

Costco Sets Up Shop Near Polaris
Nov 29 2006 6:13PM
Discount, high-end, name brand store Costco is hitting Columbus.

Doors opened at the new store, located at 1500 Gemini Place, just north of the Great Indoors at Polaris, at 8 a.m. Wednesday with 4,000 items. They include everything from produce to cosmetics to plasma TVs.

It's the brand names like Coach and Calvin Klein that Costco is known for.

OK - Although this Costco is about 40 minutes on heavy freeway from my house, it is better than trying to drive to Cincinnati or Dayton to get to a Costco.

YAY for me!!!! No, I take that back...DOUBLE yay for me!

[monmouth]

1. Costco prices in their pharmacies are sooo much

lower than the standard pharmacies. Go to www.snopes.com and type in Costco Drug Costs. It's amazing, friends of mine taking some pretty costly meds are saving up to $200 a month. Costco does not do the mark up like other pharmacies. I'm wondering if the pharmaceutical companies are getting the blame that should go to the pharmacies.

[lizziegrace]

2. Yahoo!!

I had no idea one was opening here. And the backroads will make it easier for me to get there from Delaware County.

:woohoo:

[mtnester]

3. You are SO much closer than Fairfield County

Since this is ALMOST IN Delware County. Lucky YOU! Sneak through Westerville and BANG, you are there. That is how I normally go...get off the freeway and go past St. Ann's, then take a left past the Rec center.

I never heard a word EITHER....stupid biased Columbus newspapers...this should have been at LEAST an article...I accidentally found it when I was on the WBNS10 TV site looking for the story on the new E-Discovery law effective today. . . Do NOT asked how I found one while looking for the other...too complex :)

Otherwise I would have NEVER known.

I will be there! It has been awhile since I was at Polaris...I usually end up at Easton more often than not.

[lizziegrace]

4. I think Costco would be a perfect place for a meetup

if you're interested. :)

[mtnester]

7. Sounds fine with me...as long as there is a good coffee shop there

I am GAME

Maybe to unwind after some frantic shopping and just sit and hash or have an all out bitch session? I work with all MEN, and at times, I miss the female of the species to commiserate and talk girl shop. And worse, many of the women that I know socially are simply uninterested in politics...so, if you can talk about cooking and bash GW in the same sentence, I am THERE!

Of note - DAMN it is windy!

:)

[Schmajo]

16. Not that it much matters

(except to County government that gets the local sales tax)... but Polaris, including the new Costco store, IS in Delaware County, by about half a mile.

[Kolesar]

5. Don't leave your loaded cart unattended and go back for one item

the dipshit store manager told his employee to go restock all the items I had pulled.

I rather lament that the unionized Tops grocery chain failed a few years after Costco opened two stores around here.

[mongo]

6. Cool!

Is costco a "members store" like Sam's club?

We run to C-bus all the time, and often stay up at our girlfriend's house on the north side.

[mtnester]

9. Hey buddy, it is a members store....you can sign up on their website

I think $50.00 annually.

How is bidness BTW for you guys over M county anyway?

[mongo]

13. guess I'll have to join

since we are up there all the time anyway.

Our store is hanging in there, we had a great day yesterday.

But we are going to close up shop after Valentines day next year.

We just can't live robbing Peter to pay Paul anymore, and we need health insurance.

[mtnester]

14. So what are you going to do?

[Kukesa]

8. And, Costco is a BLUE company, too.

99% of their political donations went to Dems!

Link here:

http://www.buyblue.org/node/721/view/summary

[mtnester]

10. We know we know...this makes it double glee!

OK...first time I EVER used these emoticons:

:woohoo:
:bounce:

It will NOT hurt my feelings to drive by the Sams/Wal Mart exit on my way north to Polaris. Hah Hah Hah!

On edit - I do not shop Sams or Wal Mart at all.

[Kukesa]

11. Cool emoticons! nt

[Daylin Byak]

15. Yeah not to mention they treat there employees with respect there

Unlike Wal-mart where they make you break the rules in order to get your job done and treat you like your a worthless inferior slave.

[POAS]

12. Wish we'd get one in Akron-Canton area!

[NEOBuckeye]

17. I'll second that!

For a long time, when the Montrose Super K shut down, I thought either Target would move into that location with a Super Target store, relocating from their existing regular Target store in Fairlawn, or else Costco would take it over, the latter of the two possibilities being the more desireable, of course.

Neither of these happened, unfortunately, and in fact a JCPenney, of all things, took over the spot. Montrose, which must be the ultimate antithesis of very well-planned commercial zones like Polaris and Easton in Columbus, is pretty much built out, so I don't see it happening there. Belden Village in Canton seems to be the most likely spot for a Costco, if it ever happens here at all.

Until then, I guess we'll have to settle for the store on I-271, near the Mayfield Heights/Village area.

[POAS]

18. What about all the vacant stores

in and around Rolling acres?

[NEOBuckeye]

19. Rolling Acres? Not a chance.

It might as well be a radioactive dead zone now, as far as commercial retailers are concerned. The surrounding lower West Akron, Barberton and Kenmore communities are blighted and economically depressed. The main thoroughfare at the I-77 exit closest to Rolling Acres is a high crime area, even during daylight hours. No other "Big Box" stores are now present in the vicinity. In fact, a Target store that was actually part of the Mall pulled out earlier this year. I just can't possibly see it happening there.

I still say that Belden Village or Montrose would be the most probable locations for a Costco, as they are large and apparently still-viable commercial districts with high-occupancy. The only question is, where would such a store go? I'm not sure that either of these districts has much land to spare. Something else would probably have to go away.

[POAS]

20. Which exit are you referring to?

The V. Odom exit from I-77 lets you out into a business district with several car dealerships and typical fast food franchises and it is only about a mile from RA. On the other side of RA you have I-76 with an exit onto State St. which is only about a mile to Rolling acres through fairly nice neighborhood.

While Kenmore is a rough neighborhood, Barberton is recovering and has lots of new housing being built. It isn't ever going to be Fairlawn because it is an industrial city with lots of blue collar residents but the majority of the city is not "blighted". (IMHO as a resident)

As for Target moving out of Rolling Acres, they are indeed just the latest to leave that sinking ship after they moved into a brand new shiny box store in Wadsworth just down the road. In fact that might be an alternative area for a Costco since there is still lots of land available and good highway access via SR. 21 and I-76. Wadsworth has seen a boom in "big-box" retail in the last few years so I see that as a prime candidate for further development.

There are no shortage of possibilities in this area, just get me my Costco.

[NEOBuckeye]

21. Sorry, I didn't mean to knock Barberton

I was particularly thinking of the area closest to the Kenmore-Barberton border, which has definitely seen better days. I totally forgot about the I-76 exit, south of Rolling Acres, which indeed is a much more attractive neighborhood.

I guess I wouldn't rule out Wadsworth as a location for a Costco, but they do seem to have a history of locating in high-volume, high-traffic retail districts such as Polaris in Columbus, and the Mayfield area southeast of Cleveland. That's why I stated that Belden Village or Montrose seems a more likely spot for a Costco in the Akron area. But landing one in Wadsworth would be a major coup for that community and the surrounding area.

[POAS]

22. No offense taken it's just that

Barberton gets a bad rap based on some rundown areas. As a newby to SW Summit County coming from the "greater" Cleveland area I see my adopted home town as Cleveland writ small. Nice neighborhoods growing and flourishing around downtrodden older ones.

Kenmore and the Akron/Barberton border neighborhoods need a bit of urban development and have indeed seen better days. The main reason I think of Rolling acres for Costco is the cost of the land. I doubt it would take much to get Akron to designate a huge parcel of that land as blighted and Costco and other developers could get it for a song compared to say the Belden Village area.

[NEOBuckeye]

23. Barberton actually isn't a bad city overall

It's been hit particularly hard in the post-industrial era, compared to say Akron or Cuyahoga Falls, because unlike those communities, Barberton hasn't done nearly as much to fix itself up, including maintaining the proper PR campaign to re-brand and sell itself to Northeast Ohio and beyond.

The prevailing image for years seems to have been of Barberton as a red-neckish ("Barbertucky"), Chicken-eating, old and run-down city. But Barbertonians have been and remain very proud and defensive of their Chicken-eating tradition and restaurants. That could actually be a real cultural and even tourist asset for the town with the right kind of PR.

As far as being run-down, you are right that it does have its' areas. But there are still plenty of well-maintained neighborhoods, and assets such as the new Barberton High School, Barberton Citizens' Hospital, the Barberton Natatorium, Lake Anna, and a very-much underappreciated Downtown district, which if it had even half the sort of attention and care that Akron and the Falls have given to their downtown districts, Downtown Barberton could once again be a real attraction, if not one of the areas' premier entertainment districts.

City administration primarily needs to look into a way to rebrand Barberton's image, spin Barberton Chicken as a proud tradition, fix up its' Downtown and make it a destination that can actually hold its own against neighboring Wadsworth and Akron.

One thing that might also help is if they could ever pull off the oft-proposed merger with Norton. Norton has plenty of land for new development, but Barberton has all the water. Norton is basically suburban/rural Barberton. They even share the same zip code. Both municipalities have recently struggled to support their schools, and Norton recently seems to be reviewing its' police coverage costs. Put the two areas together, I say, under the Barberton name and sell it as a brand new, good ol' town.

[Kolesar]

24. What about State Road?

I think that is where the Montgomery Ward was. I am not sure of my geography, but they talk about this dormant plaza on Newsnight Akron.

[NEOBuckeye]

25. Cuyahoga Falls is really looking to fix up that area

Before the overnight explosion of retail in Montrose, and the truncated expansion of the same in Chapel Hill, Cuyahoga Falls' State Road, back in its' heyday, was one of the Akron area's premier commercial districts, and the home of a number of local restaurants, a locally-owned Acme Supercenter and other local businesses, in addition to a few national chain stores.

The State Road area had its' problems even before the Big Box boom, however, with traffic systems and buildings alike in need of updating, not to mention crime (i.e. prostitution at the former TallyHoTel).

But I think the construction of the Chapel Hill Plaza and the overall development of Howe Ave during the mid 1990s in particular, really contributed to State Road's decline. Many of the stores on State Road relocated to Howe Ave. Plus the arrival of the "Big Box" national chains like Target, Best Buy and Circuit City didn't help the case to replace the defunct Wards' store. In addition, Howe Ave is more easily accessible from the nearby Route 8 expressway, making it more convenient for many shoppers.

Still, interest in restoring State Road to its' former glory has grown in recent years. Mayor Don Robart has been looking at using eminent domain to seize the ailing property, since the absentee owner of the one-time Montgomery Ward-anchored plaza has ignored the city's pleas to renovate it. Supposedly, the city of Cuyahoga Falls would then resell the property to a new developer. The Gap and Kohls (as I understand things) are among the talked-about possible stores for new anchors. But again, as with Wadsworth, this would be another nice spot for a Costco, and a real coup for the city of Cuyahoga Falls.

[POAS]

26. That might be geographically too close to the Mayfield store

which is right up I-271. I think it would be viable there but I don't know what there geographic limitations are.

[POAS]

27. Maybe somebody should forward this thread to Costco ;-)