Downtown Powell's Holiday Season Happens in the Places Still Being Decided

At 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, the tree lights up on Village Green Park. The city's event page sends visitors to park in the City Hall lot next to the park. In both concepts the city is weighing for the green's future, that lot becomes a multi-level garage.

This year, nearly every stop on downtown Powell's November and December calendar sits on a piece of ground with an open question. The Veterans Day luncheon is served at a City Hall that would move if redevelopment goes ahead. The tree lighting happens on a park whose layout is being redrawn. Pink Friday shoppers will walk past a new two-story building that is waiting for its first tenant. Below are the dates in order, with what is being decided at each place.

1. Tuesday, Nov. 10: Veterans Day Ceremony, Greater Powell Veterans Memorial, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
2. Thursday, Nov. 12: Village Green updated-concepts meeting, Powell City Hall, 47 Hall St., 6–8 p.m.
3. Friday, Nov. 20: Pink Friday Sip and Shop, Downtown Powell, 4–7 p.m.
4. Saturday, Dec. 5: Holidays in Powell, Village Green Park, 4–7 p.m.

Nov. 10 and a City Hall on the Planning Table

The day starts at 10 a.m. with a flag refresh at the Powell Cemetery. The Veterans Day Ceremony follows from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Greater Powell Veterans Memorial, and moves to City Hall's Council Chambers if the weather is bad. Afterward, veterans are invited to a free luncheon in City Hall's East Room.

Under the Village Green redevelopment concepts, that building would not stay where it is. When the city introduced two concepts in April, Powell officials said City Hall and the police department would both need new locations if redevelopment moves forward, Delaware Source reported. No replacement sites have been named. The luncheon takes place in a building the city is actively studying, two days before the public sees the revised plans.

Nov. 12: Updated Concepts for the Green, in the Same Building

The city has scheduled a meeting on updated concepts for Thursday, Nov. 12, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Powell City Hall. A presentation starts at 6 p.m., and questions follow.

The two spring concepts share several elements. Both mix retail and mixed-use buildings with residential, and both include a market hall, a grocery store and more parking, including the garage on the 47 Hall St. lot. They differ in shape:

• Village Square groups buildings around a central public square with green space and a water feature, plus a gateway to S. Liberty Street.
• Market Street is a denser, linear public corridor lined with retail and entertainment, with a pedestrian connector toward Hall Street, City Hall and public parking.

What changed between spring and now came from public input. More than 220 people attended four open houses and left 381 comments, and the summary added 30 written comments sent to officials. According to the city's Phase II engagement summary, commenters wanted to keep or expand the green space, keep the amphitheater and splash pad, and add amenities for families and several age groups. They also raised traffic and connections to nearby neighborhoods, objected to apartment density and height, and preferred Village Square over Market Street because it connects better to downtown. City Council heard the same themes on Aug. 4, along with performance space and Powell's small-town character. In its August coverage, Delaware Source reported that the volume of feedback led the city to extend Phase II.

The process has firm limits. The city expects Phase II to end in December 2026. Phase III covers financial analysis and writing the master plan, and the city says a completed plan does not authorize construction or redevelopment. Any physical change would need further evaluation, funding decisions and approvals. In September, Council's 2027–2031 capital plan set aside $475,000 for engineering and design to reconstruct Scioto Street between N. Depot and N. Liberty streets. The same plan anticipates debt financing for a Scioto Street extension and a northeast-quadrant parking lot. That funding is for design work only, a few blocks from the green.

Nov. 20 on Olentangy Street, Where the Next Tenant Is Still Being Chosen

Visit Powell lists Pink Friday Sip and Shop for Friday, Nov. 20, from 4 to 7 p.m. in downtown Powell. A walk along West Olentangy Street that evening shows where the downtown food scene is growing and where it is still waiting.

The two-story building under construction at 147 W. Olentangy St., next to the former Columbus Running Company, is being built as a 4,500-square-foot restaurant and event space. Powell Development Corporation director Sean Hughes told Delaware Source in September that he expects construction to wrap and a tenant to be signed by March or April, with a public opening hoped for in summer 2027. He compared the concept to Local Roots, which has a main dining room and a separate banquet hall, and said he would like a higher-end restaurant such as a steakhouse. "We're missing that genre of restaurant right now," he said.

His case rests on the city's 2025 Community Attitudinal Survey. In it, 58% of respondents called a broader assortment of restaurants and specialty food shops a high priority, and 36% named it their single highest priority, the largest share for that question. Pedestrian-friendly features and more parking ranked second and third. Those same three priorities run through the Village Green comments. Hughes also said he will market upstairs space in a proposed downtown arcade building to a tenant that fits with the activity space below.

Delaware Source's September story listed Lani Rooftop Lounge, CoccoKay Bites, The Grateful Griddle, Hoseki Sushi and Grill and Glazed Over Donuts as 2026 openings in Powell. Their addresses and dates come from COhatch for Lani, The Columbus Dispatch for CoccoKay, 614NOW for Glazed Over, 1808 Delaware for Hoseki and 614NOW for The Grateful Griddle:

Downtown got a rooftop lounge, an Indian bakery and a donut shop. The steakhouse-style dining room Hughes is recruiting for would be steps from CoccoKay Bites. Out on Powell Road, the former Yoshi Yum at 3889 Powell Rd. closed in September, and Benny's Pizza Carryout was announced as the next tenant, 614NOW reported.

The Corner at 41 Depot St.

A block from the Pink Friday route, the taproom that anchored Depot Street since 2019 has changed. Nocterra Brewing closed its Powell taproom at 41 Depot St. on Aug. 30, along with its Brewery District location. In August, owners Bruce Vivian and Bryan and Lori Duncan called the closure temporary, and in late September Nocterra applied to renew its liquor license at the Powell address, according to Columbus Underground.

In October, Land-Grant Brewing applied for its own liquor license at the same address. A Powell location would be Land-Grant's first stand-alone taproom outside Franklinton, where founders Adam Benner and Walt Keys opened at 424 W. Town St. in 2014. The brewery also runs a taproom at John Glenn International Airport and added a winterized Winter Garden in Franklinton in 2021, with igloos and ice games.

Dec. 5 on the Green Itself

Holidays in Powell runs Saturday, Dec. 5, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Village Green Park. The lineup includes an iceless ice rink, a bonfire with free s'mores, photos with Santa that require pre-registration, performances, roaming entertainment and the annual tree lighting at 6 p.m. The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Newman Roofing are among the sponsors. The city sends visitors to the City Hall lot next to the park, with other downtown lots on its parking map.

Phase II of the Village Green plan is scheduled to end the same month. The things commenters asked to keep are the green space, the amphitheater, room for performances and amenities for several age groups, and those are also the things the Dec. 5 event uses. The lot where visitors will park is the one both concepts would turn into a garage. This year's tree lighting takes place on the park as it is now, a few weeks before the planning phase that could change its layout wraps up.

We work in Powell with homeowners who want to know how changes downtown could affect a house a few blocks away, whether they are planning a renovation, a refresh before listing or simply their next step. If the Nov. 12 concepts have you thinking about your own property, The Nth Degree Team can help you plan the design, construction and timing together. Start your home transformation.