May 12, 2011
City plans to address renamed club By KEVIN PARKS ThisWeek Community Newspapers
No news is good news when it comes to bad news, according to Brandon Shroy, assistant city attorney. A collective groan went up at last week’s Northland Community Council meeting when it was announced that, as feared, the former Dockside Dolls at 2210
E. Dublin Granville Road had opened under a new name but, evidently, as the same kind of operation. “It is absolutely the definition of a strip club,” said officer Scott Clinger, the community liaison to one of the precincts that covers the Northland area. He was responding to a question from NCC president Dave Paul. Now called Club Escape, the business
has not escaped the notice of city authorities. A plan is in place to address the issue, Clinger said, but would offer little in the way of details. When Shroy arrived at the monthly session of the council, he wouldn’t offer any details at all. In fact, he said, the city attorney’s office is no longer publicly discussing Club Escape at all. “Which is probably completely un-
satisfying, but it means things are working,” Shroy said. “We’re giving it the attention we think it needs.” With some reluctance, he went on to say that evidence was being gathered and that it’s possible an injunction may be sought if the city brings a lawsuit against the owner of Club Escape. “We don’t know what’s appropriate in this case,” Shroy added.
Officer Clinger warned council members it might take a “long and drawn-out court battle” to close down Club Escape, which would appear to be in violation of city zoning codes that limit adult entertainment venues to properties zoned for manufacturing. “That is not a manufacturing district,” Paul said. See CITY PLANS, page A2
NCC’s acting chairman emphasizes development panel’s importance By KEVIN PARKS ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Photos by Eric George/ThisWeek
Bethany Neal sings as Thom Gall (below) conducts the May 7 Vaud-Villities rehearsal in their new home, a section of the former JCPenney store at the defunct Northland Mall. The Vaud-Villities’ 69th annual performance, titled “Celebrate!” will be held place May 18-22. The new headquarters brings together every aspect of the operations of Vaud-Villities, according to board chairman Kent D. Stuckey.
Vaud-Villities annual show will ‘Celebrate!’ new locale By KEVIN PARKS ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Almost a surer sign of spring in central Ohio than the blooming of flowers is the arrival of another show by Vaud-Villities Productions. Back for a 69th annual series of performances, the self-described “America’s longestrunning music and dance spectacular” will be held May 18-22. The title of this year’s show is “Celebrate!” and part of the celebration will be of the troupe’s inaugural performance in a new, permanent home at the Northland Performing Arts Center. Located in a portion of the old JCPenney building on the site of the defunct Northland Mall, the new headquarters brings together every aspect of the operations of Vaud-Villities, according to board chairman Kent D. Stuckey. Although Vaud-Villities officials had anticipated the overhaul of the former department store would have been almost completed in time for last year’s show, in fact the occupancy and food-service permits for the center were only recently obtained. Last year’s show took place on the stage of
what was once Upper Arlington High School, where the first performance took place in 1943. Stuckey said that Vaud-Villities has been “at the mercy” of a construction contractor who still hasn’t completed all the work two years past the deadline. “But the show must go on,” he said. And it will. And the performers can’t wait, according to Toni Auch, artistic director since 1993. “I think they’re really riding high now,” Auch said. “All of the things they’ve been practicing are coming to a head. Once the curtain started going up they really got excited. They said,
‘This is really looking like a theatre.’ ” The seating riser system for the Performing Arts Center is in place, Stuckey said last week. The configurable stage is scheduled to be ready for opening night, as are the lighting and sound systems. “We’re thrilled to be here,” the board chairman said. “We’re thrilled to be able to share it with other performing arts groups and the local community. “We think that this could serve as a model for redevelopment across the country, to repurpose mall facilities for community use.” Members of the Vaud-Villities cast and crew come from all across Columbus, all parts of Franklin County and even beyond, according to Auch. While the new facility involves a major investment on the part of Vaud-Villities Productions, Stuckey said that the troupe’s costs will actually be reduced by bringing the entire operation into one location. “We now have a facility that meets all of our rehearsal, warehouse and set shop needs,” he said.
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The hits keep on coming. The Northland area took another one last week with the announcement that the Kroger Co. will conclude the lease of its Columbus Square store. Located at Cleveland Avenue and East Dublin Granville Road, the
store’s last day of business will Sunday, July 10. “All store operations at that location will cease on that date,” according to the announcement from Amy McCormick, media relations manager for the grocery chain’s Columbus division. The news comes on the heels of February’s closing of the Kohl’s store on Morse Road.
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But all is not doom and gloom. In addition to the opening last month of the gigantic Menards home-improvement store on Morse Road, the owner of the Columbus Square Shopping Center said that he has a plan in place to fill the gap created by the imminent departure of Kroger. “Obviously it’s a disappointment,” George Hadler, president of Hadler
Parade chairman wants July 4 to include varied representation By KEVIN PARKS ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Cos., said of the grocery chain’s announcement. “It’ s not a surprise. It’s really about the building. It’s not the location. It’s not Kroger. “That’s what happens in this business, sometimes,” he said. “It’s strictly a business decision, and I have to respect them for that.” Hadler went on to say that his
With cold, rainy, practically winter weather refusing to give way to spring warmth and sunshine, it’s hard to think about a hot summer holiday. But for the people organizing the annual parade that is one of the Northland Community Council’s signature events, the Fourth of July is very much on their minds. “It’ll be here before you know it,” council president Dave Paul said at last week’s monthly meeting. This time around, according to chairman George Schmidt, a concerted effort is under way to make sure the Northland Community Fourth of July Parade represents all of the area’s neighborhoods. To that end, Schmidt said, the Hadler Cos. is offering $200 toward materials to encourage every civic association to have a float in the parade. “It’s not that hard to come up with something,” Schmidt said, noting that a “float” can be as simple as a pickup truck with a banner. In a letter to potential parade participants, Schmidt wrote: “A Fourth of July parade has been an annual tradition here in the Northland area for 48 years, starting in Forest Park in 1963. In 1966, the Northland Jaycees started
See KROGER’S , page A3
See JULY 4 PARADE, page A2
See VAUD-VILLITIES, page A4
Kroger’s Columbus Square store to close; county offices may fill gap By KEVIN PARKS
It was pop quiz time for Northland Community Council members. At May’s monthly meeting, president Dave Paul asked representatives from member civic groups how many of them hoped to be in their current Northland homes 10 years down the road because it was in a nice place to live. Or did they plan to sell in that period of time, and would they want Dave Paul to get a good price? The only one not raising a hand was Northland Alliance representative Dave Cooper. He resides in Westerville. The point of the exercise, Paul said, was to bring home to members that one of the most important ways of ensuring continued quality of life or retaining property value is to become involved in the council’s development committee. Paul, who is acting head of the committee while chairman Bob Thurman recuperates from a late-February heart attack and other health issues, pointed out that only seven civic organization representatives were on hand for the April meeting of the development panel. “That really isn’t a good thing,” he said. Improved attendance and greater involvement is vital, See DEVELOPMENT PANEL, page A2
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