Maybe downtown Columbus isn't so recovered, after all
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It turns out our downtown may not be the post-pandemic success story many had celebrated.
Driving the news: Downtown Columbus' number of unique visitors this spring reached only 56.5% of pre-pandemic levels, per an updated analysis from the University of Toronto's School of Cities that tracks cell phone activity.
- That ranks us 51st among the 55 largest U.S. metro areas tracked, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick and Kavya Beheraj report.
Flashback: An earlier version of the research placed Columbus at No. 4, showing activity exceeding pre-pandemic levels, before researchers changed their methodology. That resulted in different boundaries for our downtown area.
Zoom in: Under the old methodology, "downtown" was expansive, including spots that locals likely wouldn't — such as a southern portion of the bustling Short North and a stretch of Dublin Road just south of Grandview.
- Now, it's scaled back considerably, stopping north near Vine Street and with a western border following the curve of the Scioto River.
The bottom line: It's hard to gauge how well we're progressing if the goal post moves.
What we're watching: City officials are trying lots of things to bolster downtown activity, including approving new apartment buildings, offering business incentives and launching programs like LunchBucks.