The owners of the Eastland Mall were cited for contempt

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Owners Eastland Shopping Center charged with contempt after Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said they failed to make necessary improvements to keep the property in compliance.

According to Klein’s office, the owners of Eastland Mall Holdings LLC failed to comply with the court order issued in June. The order said the owners must remove and correct trash and solid waste, tall grass, inappropriate graphics, graffiti, broken concrete, wall overhangs and voids in the mortar.

The owners were fined $3,500 and an additional penalty of $250 per day for each day the property is non-compliant.

In April 2021, the city of Columbus filed a lawsuit against the property owners.

In March 2022, they became the owners prosecuted for breaching health and safety regulations. The city management received a court order in June declare the shopping center an object that violates public order after months of neglect and failure by property owners to bring the site into compliance, Klein said.

Owners had until July 13 to fix property violations and August 13 to fix parking violations. In addition, the owners were ordered to perform daily trash pickup and bi-weekly grounds maintenance to maintain the property and keep it up to code.

“The small business owners, patrons and residents of the East Side deserve better than what they are getting in Eastland because the property owners failed to meet reasonable benchmarks to comply with the court order for safety improvements,” Klein said. “The city will continue to use every legal opportunity to hold the owners accountable and ensure that this property is brought into compliance so that it can once again create economic opportunity on the east side of Columbus.”

A status conference is scheduled for January 10, 2023 to reevaluate compliance with the order and determine next steps for the property.

Local news: recent coverage ⬇️