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The Columbus Report

Join locals who are on the inside track with where Columbus is going with new developments, news, happenings and the real estate market. Only in my free newsletter.

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The Columbus Report

FROM COLUMBUS BEING VOTED A TOP 10 BIG CITY IN AMERICA — ABOVE NEW YORK AND SEATTLE — TO A COLUMBUS BAR BEING NAMED THE BEST IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY TO INTEL EYEING A SECOND PARTNER FOR ITS NEW ALBANY PLANT: Condé Nast Traveler Readers Ranked Columbus the #8 Best Big City in America From 757,000-Plus Responses, Cobra Won Best U.S. Restaurant Bar at the 2026 Spirited Awards, and Intel Is Reportedly Weighing a South Korean Memory-Chip Partnership That Could Accelerate Its $28 Billion New Albany Campus

Columbus recognition and development data reveals a city the rest of the country is finally catching up to — ranked above cities twice its size, home to the best bar in America, and anchoring a semiconductor project that keeps gathering momentum.

Gagan Timsina

Jul 25, 2026

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6 min read

FROM AN $850 MILLION AIRCRAFT FACTORY LANDING IN SPRINGFIELD TO A RARE ONE-FLOOR RANCH IN OLENTANGY SCHOOLS TO 518 NEW HOMES REPLACING DOWNTOWN PARKING LOTS: Electra Chose Ohio for an $850M Headquarters and Manufacturing Plant That Will Build Up to 800 Hybrid-Electric Aircraft a Year and Create Nearly 2,000 Jobs, This Week's Deal of the Week Is a 2,614-Square-Foot Powell Ranch With a First-Floor Owner's Suite, and a $96 Million Downtown Project Will Turn Surface Parking Near Encova Into 518 Residences

Columbus and regional data reveals the same story on three different scales this week — a state pulling in advanced manufacturing, a suburb producing the rare home everyone wants, and a downtown betting hard that more people want to live in it.

Gagan Timsina

Jul 18, 2026

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6 min read

FROM A CULT-FAVORITE DONUT SHOP PICKING COLUMBUS FOR ITS FIRST-EVER FRANCHISE TO A 362-UNIT COMMUNITY OPENING WITH 2 MONTHS FREE TO A 26-FOOT LIVING THERMOMETER RISING OVER GAY AND HIGH: Jeff's Donuts Opens Its First Ohio Location 24/7 on Hamilton Road, Lawrence Square Debuts Between Dublin and Hilliard With Resort Amenities and Rents From $1,395, and Downtown's Madison North Gets a Spencer Finch Art Installation That Displays the Temperature in Color — Plus Your Guide to a Packed Columbus Weekend

Columbus food, housing, and culture data reveals a city hitting its stride on every front — and starting now, you're going to hear about it more often. Details inside.

Gagan Timsina

Jul 11, 2026

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7 min read

FROM OHIO OFFICIALLY BEING NAMED AMERICA'S #1 STATE FOR BUSINESS TO A $1.65M BOB WEBB NEW BUILD HITTING THE DUBLIN SCHOOLS MARKET TO A VIRAL BAGEL BRAND BRINGING ITS BLOCK-LONG LINES TO THE SHORT NORTH: CNBC Independently Ranked Ohio the Top State for Business in the Entire Country, a 5,158-Square-Foot Bob Webb Luxury Home Just Listed at 9026 Fox Field Path on a Private Wooded Lot in Dublin City Schools, and PopUp Bagels — the Social-Media-Born Brand With 41 Shops in 17 States — Is Planning Its First Ohio Location at 850 N. High St.

Columbus economic, real estate, and culture data reveals a state that just got national confirmation of what the ground has been telling us all along — the growth here is real, it's ranked #1, and it's showing up everywhere from luxury new builds to the bagel line about to wrap around a Short North block.

Gagan Timsina

Jun 27, 2026

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5 min read

THE VISIBILITY TABLE IS BACK JUNE 30TH, COLUMBUS IS BUILDING A MILLION-GALLON OCEAN WITH SHARKS, AND THE ZOO'S BABY GIRAFFE FINALLY HAS A NAME: The Visibility Table Returns June 30th With a Stacked Lineup and Only 150 Free Seats, the Columbus Zoo's Wolfe Aquarium Will Bring 1 Million Gallons, 10,000 Animals, and 9-Foot Sharks to Central Ohio, and Baby Giraffe Jasper Just Won a 7,000-Vote Public Naming Contest

A quick note: this one's a little different. There's something I want you in the room for on June 30th — then we get into the stories.

Gagan Timsina

Jun 20, 2026

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9 min read

FROM OHIO'S FIRST-EVER WAYFAIR STORE OPENING AT POLARIS TO APPLE BECOMING A CUSTOMER AT INTEL'S NEW ALBANY PLANT TO A CLAW MACHINE SO BIG IT NEEDS A CRANE COMING TO EASTON: Wayfair Chose Columbus to Test Its First Small-Format Physical Store With a 70,000-Square-Foot Location and a June 26–28 Grand Opening, Apple Has Signed On as a Customer for Intel's Long-Delayed Ohio One Campus in a Deal That Sent Intel Stock Up 6.5%, and Fantasy Claw Arcade Is Bringing 70-Plus Claw Machines to Easton Station as Malls Race to Replace Shopping With Experiences

Columbus retail, manufacturing, and entertainment data reveals a single through-line this week — national companies keep choosing Columbus first, whether they're testing a new model, filling a multibillion-dollar plant, or proving a concept can work in Ohio.

Gagan Timsina

Jun 13, 2026

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9 min read

FROM OHIO'S SECOND BUC-EE'S GETTING UNANIMOUS APPROVAL IN MANSFIELD TO THE WORLD CUP TAKING OVER COLUMBUS FOR A FULL MONTH: A 74,000-Square-Foot, $50 Million Buc-ee's Travel Center Is Officially Coming to the I-71 and State Route 39 Interchange After the State's First Location Broke a Company Record With Over $1 Million in Opening-Day Sales, and the 2026 World Cup Is Bringing 48 Teams, Four Team USA Watch Parties, and More Than 18 Venues' Worth of Soccer to Central Ohio From June 11 Through the July 19 Final

Columbus growth and culture data reveals a region attracting national-scale investment and global-scale attention in the same month — one along the highway corridor that connects it, the other across every neighborhood in it.

Gagan Timsina

Jun 6, 2026

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8 min read

FROM COLUMBUS'S MOST PACKED JUNE CALENDAR YET TO NINE NEW NONSTOP ROUTES AT JOHN GLENN TO THE CAPITAL LINE BREAKING GROUND ON GAY STREET: Columbus June Stacks the Memorial Tournament, Taco Fest, Arts Festival, Buckeye Country Superfest, Origins Game Fair, Columbus Pride, the Air Show, Creekside Blues and Jazz, and ComFest Into a Single Month While the City's Airport Hits a Historic 55-Plus Nonstop Destinations With Direct Flights to LA, Austin, Montreal, and Key West, and the $100 Million Capital Line Enters Its Most Visible Construction Phase With Gay Street Closing Block by Block Through Late 2027

Columbus entertainment, infrastructure, and connectivity data reveals a city operating at full stride — filling its calendar, expanding its reach, and rebuilding its core all at the same time.

Gagan Timsina

May 30, 2026

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7 min read

FROM CAMERON MITCHELL'S HUDSON 29 LANDING IN BEXLEY TO DUTCH BROS AND 7 BREW SQUARING OFF ON SAWMILL ROAD TO POWELL REVEALING TWO VISIONS FOR A WALKABLE DOWNTOWN DISTRICT: Cameron Mitchell Restaurants Commits Hudson 29 Kitchen + Drink to The Fitzgerald's $85 Million Mixed-Use Development on East Main Street With a Spring 2027 Opening, Dutch Bros and 7 Brew Are Racing to Dominate One of Columbus's Busiest Retail Corridors With Competing Drive-Thru Concepts Near Dublin, and Powell's Village Green Site Is Being Reimagined as Either a Central Public Gathering Space or a Dense Walkable Retail and Entertainment District With a Final Plan Expected by 2027

Columbus restaurant, retail, and development data reveals a city where the suburbs are no longer waiting for growth to find them — they are actively designing what comes next, one mixed-use commitment, one drive-thru battle, and one downtown reimagining at a time.

Gagan Timsina

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