The Hawk Eye
WEST BURLINGTON One Sunday a month, summer crowds drove a well-worn path to the West Burlington Flea Market at Southeastern Community College, where market owner Bob McCullough sold polished gold and silver pawn shop jewelry, surrounded by used lawnmowers, antique housewares, rusty farm tools, plants, and geese, before it became a COVID-19 casualty in 2020.
Starting this Sunday, flea market enthusiasts can take a nearby route to the old J.C. Penney parking lot at Westland Mall, where a monthly indoor vendor show is moving outside for the season.
Hours for the Westland Mall Flea Market and Food Truck Frenzy are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., rain or shine.
After plunging in 2020, central Ohio retail is climbing out of its pandemic hole.
Foot traffic is rising, leasing is up, and new stores are opening throughout the Columbus area, but plenty of clouds remain, especially for enclosed malls and older strip centers in central Ohio, which has more than twice the retail space of the U.S. average. I can now admit that I was wrong, said David Lukes, CEO of SITE Centers, the Beachwood-based firm that owns or co-owns several premium Columbus shopping centers including Lennox Town Center, Polaris Towne Center, Sun Center and Easton Market. A year ago, I definitely thought I was heading into what I thought would be the worst part of my career. Now I think I m heading into the best part of my career. Leasing activity now is the highest I ve ever seen it. This is the most shocking turnaround I ve ever seen.
What was formerly acres of blighted and abandoned apartments are now going to be home to a small and affordable apartment development. But whether it s a harbinger of better things ahead for the area near Westland Mall remains unclear.
Woda Cooper Companies plans to build 60 affordable apartments for senior residents near the Havenwood Townhomes site, which sits just west of and across Georgesville Road from Hollywood Casino Columbus near Westland Mall.
The apartments are being built in Prairie Township on former Franklin County land bank parcels. The land bank tore down about 40 blighted apartment buildings totaling 760 units, said Curtiss Williams, president and CEO of the land bank known as the Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation.
Earth Day cleanup will remember former Hawk Eye editor Randy Miller
Volunteers to gather at Westland Mall Saturday morning.
The Hawk Eye
When glove-wearing volunteers, trash bags in hand, take to the streets of Burlington and West Burlington on Saturday for the annual Earth Day cleanup, they will work in memory of Randy Miller.
“Scouting out locations, recruiting volunteers, gathering supplies and door prizes, picking up litter and bags during the event he was ready to help in any capacity needed. Randy took great satisfaction in improving the community in many ways, and Burlington is a better place because of his efforts,” Keep Burlington Beautiful said in a recent Facebook post.
Hialeah Police have arrested a man accused of killing his estranged wife Friday morning during a domestic dispute. Joel Luis Polanco is currently in custody facing a first-degree murder charge, police announced Saturday. Officers say the 40-year-old victim suffered several gunshot wounds during the incident that took place around 7 a.m. Friday morning at the 690 block of 40th Street. The…