COLUMBUS, Ohio -- City officials recently announced new details about a plan to implement streetcars in downtown Columbus.

The rail car system would cost $103 million and would run almost three miles along High Street from The Ohio State University South Campus Gateway to Mound Street. But with City Center Mall a virtual ghost town, what is there to attract Central Ohioans to downtown destinations?

City Center was once a bustling haven for shoppers. Now, only a few shops remain. The city has sued the mall's operators and taken control with the mayor recently announcing plans to tear down the walkway over High Street and transform the area into a shopping destination around a town square.

The challenge facing City Center is filling 152,000 square feet of vacant shop space and 12 acres of unused lots and surface parking along High Street.

"The High Street corridor was once a bustling boulevard where people came to shop, visit and live. Times have changed and so has High Street," said Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman.

Coleman said $103 million for streetcars could revitalize the city's spine, but some ask, why take a ride if there's little left along South High Street to attract them?

Others said streetcars could work as part of an integrated plan.

Coleman's office said it is pursuing streetcars and development simultaneously. So the Mile on High District will be bustling by 2012 when streetcars are expected.

As for City Center, Nationwide Realty said the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation is pursuing tenants and a new plan is expected this summer.

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