COLUMBUS, Ohio — The city of Columbus may soon be stepping in to fix the neglected Eastland Mall in the hopes of expediting plans to change the course of its future.
Its current owners now face $200,000 in fines for not complying with court mandates.
"The current owners, they're just not doing what needs to be done,” said Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein.
Klein said Eastland Mall’s property owners have been fined $1,000 a day after months of neglecting to address code violations.
"We have fire issues, we have potential asbestos issues, you know, there could be potential structural issues, we did have problems dealing with crime,” Klein said.
There are also concerns that some of the code violations could also be impacting students attending summer camp at its bordering charter school, Eastland Preparatory Academy.
"I don't want to jump to conclusions, but I do think it's safe to say that we need to make sure we're running the right tests, air quality, water, asbestos exposure, whatever potentially could be done, could be exposed there,” Klein said.
Now, Klein said they’re looking to take over the property so that they can appoint a receiver to make the necessary changes.
“Which essentially means to get it out of the hands of the current owners and try to get it into someone’s hands who will fix up the property, get it ready for sale,” Klein said.
The property would then be sold to a developer.
"So much potential exists for the redevelopment of that site that is really key to the future of the east side,” Klein said.
Klein said the focus would be to address some of the city’s needs in that area.
"How can we put our heads together with the right developer and do something that brings housing, mixed-use sports, entertainment, really what the community wants,” Klein said.
City zoning officials previously told 10TV that the area is zoned for commercial use and could suit most businesses except for a car wash, gas station or drive-in theater. Residential space could also work as long as it's placed above a business, not on ground level.
But, plans can’t move forward until city officials get their hands on it, begging the question, "How do you leverage the fine and penalty so that we can get the property turned into productive use?” Klein said.