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The CEO of the Downtown Raleigh Alliance recently told the News & Observer that the "long-term viability of the downtown is at stake" if downtown Raleigh isn't infused with retail options.
And he -- thankfully -- is not alone.
"People stop me on the street -- visitors -- saying, 'Where do I shop?' " Raleigh Planning Director Mitchell J. Silver told the paper. "It's embarrassing."
In short, it's too bad the old Hudson Belk on Fayetteville Street just couldn't hold out, oh, a couple of decades or so. But the flight to the suburbs crippled that store's viability, along with others, not just in Raleigh but in downtowns all over America.
But if the revival of Downtown Raleigh is to be a complete success, people have to have places to shop. A major "anchor" store -- yes, a national chain -- would go a LONG way in showing downtown retail viability. The downtown Minneapolis Target store is that chain's most profitable. Charlotte now has a Target and a Home Depot on the outer edge of downtown. I've often thought an Urban Outfitters would do well on Glenwood Avenue or F-Street. What about H&M? Another shot at Belk?
The buyers may be there already, according to the N&O.
"The city estimates that downtown retailers should bring in $224 million in sales this year, but the total will probably be closer to $192 million, in part because of insufficient marketing and merchandising."
In the past three years, at least 83 street-level businesses have opened downtown, up 17 percent from the previous three years, according to a count by the Downtown Alliance. The number of street-level business closures declined 10 percent during the same period.
The Alliance has conducted a study to show that it makes sense for retailers to set up shop downtown.
"The study," says the paper, "to be conducted by outside consultants, will help the city identify what kinds of retailers would complement the current mix and how best to recruit them, Diaz said. It may look at how other cities have succeeded, and encourage discussion of public recruiting incentives, private financing initiatives and branding strategies. It also could explore juggling long-term hopes of the city, short-term demands of investors (return on investment) and residents' desires (more grocery, apparel and bookstores). ..."
The demand for downtown retail should be there -- in time. The number of downtown homes is expected to grow 70 percent by 2010, according to the paper. "And almost 200,000 square feet of shops are planned or being built."
Good. Let's keep it up, not just for those of us that live and work downtown, but for the visitors. It may just be the final ingredient in making Raleigh a crown jewel of the South.
11 comments:
Agreed. I especially like your suggestion of an Urban Outfitters downtown. It would be wonderful if downtown Raleigh had a buffet of downtown clothing stores to shop at a la Charleston, SC.
Yes, our own little King Street would be fantastic.
A target actually wouldn't be a bad idea. Think of the number of people that shop there and the number of colleges in the area. They'd make a killing. It'd be easier than driving to North Hills or Crossroads.
I think it's hard for national chains to make the move because who wants to be first and be ahead of the curve? It might mean sitting there for months losing money hoping retailing will develop around you. If there was a development where multiple companies can sign leases and open together, they may be more inclined to give it a shot. (This would be for smaller stores, not big stuff like Target.) I also hope the work being done to Hillsborough Street continues. The whole thing could be a great connector(er?) between campus and the downtown "districts." As far as what I would like to see, I'm hoping for an American Apparel store and a DTR bookstore.
On another kinda similar note, when is someone going to take advantage of the stretch of Peace St. between St. Mary's St. (Broughton High) and at least Glenwood (Mellow Mushroom) if not all the way down the hill to Capital Blvd.? This could be our little Buckhead. Outside at the Mellow Mushroom is always packed on nice nights but how about replicating that up and down the street? I'm not for tearing down old buildings just for the sake of "progress" but I don't think anything there is historically significant. Move the parking away from the street (like at the MM) and have outdoor dining beside the sidewalk. It will be a place to have a great time, walk around, and see and be seen. And having said this, of course we are keeping the 7 Even!
There was a rumor a year or two ago about H&M looking at downtown Raleigh. But I haven't heard a thing about that in a long time. Too bad...I think that'd be the kind of store that would bring out a lot of shoppers to downtown.
Since F Street is shorter than Charleston's King, there could be shopping along the Salisbury/Fayetville/Wilmington set of corridors and the cross streets (Hargett, Martin, Davie).
I *hope* city officials are working on deals now to annouce as the Next Big Thing after the convention center opens later this year (quite weird to type that!)
There have been some moves/closures on Glenwood already -- Fly shoes, Spinning Mule Records, Wag pet supplies, etc. -- but I think those were too early.
When 222 Glenwood and West at North open this year, there will be more residents that will support that kind of retail vs. restaurants and bars.
The three most likely chains to "pioneer" in downtown would be Urban Outfitters (heck they have Urban in their name, though other NC locations are in malls -- Southpark in Charlotte and Southpoint in Durham), American Apparell (no mall locations) and H&M (currently no good mall space, would be a destination unto itself).
Target likes to promote a hip/urban image of itself, and there are no locations ITB. If a North Hills-like development were to go anywhere downtown, Target would be attached. But I don't think they'll move in solo.
McDonalds (and the camel hump in the road in front) kills Peace Street. Flatten the hump, put a close to the street with patio seating Chipolte on the current McD's site, and the rest of Peace (minus 7 even) would redevlop. The mexican place across from 7 even closed, with a for lease sign on the door now.
Raleigh defintely needs a big named grocery like Harris Teeter to attract more people to live downtown. Something convienent that is walkable (possibly in a residential building).
Retail stores, like Urban Outfitters, would be great downtown too. Other stores that Raleigh has been "waiting" for could make downtown a destination for local and nonlocal shoppers just like Southpointe has done in Durham. Hopefully retailers such as Neiman Marcus, Apple, Antropology, Scoop, and other mainstream stores are looking at our downtown area.
Check out my blog at http://blogs.wncn.info/dsutton
D, Great blog, by the way. Nice work.
Antropologie would be a wonderful addition. Just think if DTR could land Urban Outfitters, American Apparel, NM and Anthropologie. These are all stores that don't really have a Triangle presence. I personallly think they would all do well here. Not to mention, I would LOVE a Barnes & Noble on F Street. Something like that would be fantastic. I know they're chains, but oh well.
Oh, one more thing. Folks I know in LG recently went to Charlotte for a meeting. The Charlotte folks will tell you that the retail follows residential, not the other way around. That's good news; at least Raleigh doesn't appear (yet) to not be on the right track.
How 'bout a Mast General store? That woudl rock!
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