Ikea at Mall of America

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Thu Mar 13, 2003 4:54 pm

It was just announced that Ikea is putting a store in the next phase of Mall of Hell..er America. This is one part of Minneapolis I'll steer clear of.

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Thu Mar 13, 2003 5:06 pm

Here's a story detailing what retail Minneapolis still doesn't have in light of the Ikea signing
http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/3752033.html

They're griping about Lowe's and Dillard's...are they really missing out? They also mention stuff like Gucci. Twin Cities doesn't really have a "leader of the pack" upscale center like the Plaza. Everything is scattered between Ridgedale, Galleria, Nicollet Mall, and Mall of America.

baystateroad · Post by **baystateroad** » Wed Apr 09, 2003 7:04 pm

Back about 8-12 years ago gavidaii downtown was--saks, nordstrom (both still there) ralph lauren and other assorted overpriced retailers were all located there linked by skyway to the more run of the mill city center, nicollett, and numerous hotels and eateries of varied quality. It was and to some extent still is a good electic mix. It's a sizeable landscape. The arrangement still exists but as the 90's wore on, some of the smaller and midsized mall type retailers (county seat, gap) moved on or out of downtown but the larger anchor tenants are still funtioning, at least in gavidaii. It's still the nicest and most convenient environment to shop at in MPLS but it's pretty barren now unfortunately. Alot of the smaller retailers are stupid touristy trinket houses selling innocuous junk. The twin cities metro area was a mall saturated place even long before the MOA--rosedale, ridgedale, southdale, brookdale, etc. But as more residents come to the area in general and more shopping traffic chiefly due to the block E redevelopment things hopefully will rebound.

mpls · Post by **mpls** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 1:04 am

trailerkid wrote:Here's a story detailing what retail Minneapolis still doesn't have in light of the Ikea signing
http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/3752033.html

They're griping about Lowe's and Dillard's...are they really missing out? They also mention stuff like Gucci. Twin Cities doesn't really have a "leader of the pack" upscale center like the Plaza. Everything is scattered between Ridgedale, Galleria, Nicollet Mall, and Mall of America.

you really have a thing for this "plaza" don't you?

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 9:01 am

Don't have a thing for it...it's just our dominant upscale retail center. Maybe if Mpls had one they wouldn't have articles griping about what stores they don't have.

mpls · Post by **mpls** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 11:26 am

my ass. why do think kansas city has better retail than minneapolis? i gurantee you the gaviidae is better than the plaza. what stores does the plaza have?

mpls · Post by **mpls** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 11:28 am

is it "big city envy" trailer?

KCgridlock · Post by **KCgridlock** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 12:54 pm

mpls,

The plaza really is a wonderfull urban mixed use district. I can honestly say, that there is nothing like it anywhere, including mpls (stores are just a part of what the Plaza is all about). But mpls is a very cool town with it's own unique treasures. I like mpls a lot and the city has done a lot with it's Downtown, something KC is just begining to do.

Some Plaza pics:

http://imageevent.com/kcgridlock/kansas ... 1.rabbit_s

mpls · Post by **mpls** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 1:15 pm

that does look nice.

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 4:16 pm

Mpls...i'm sorry to do this to you, but you asked for it. And before you say i'm jealous let's remember who is visiting who's forum. I've never been to a Minnapolis forum...only a web site to get trash..er, pics of Minneapolis.

These are from both centers' web sites

Gaviidae:
Saks
Neiman Marcus
Ann Taylor
Aveda
Bruegger's Bagels
Candy Bouquet
Caribou Coffee
Cole Haan
D-Amico and Sons
Franklin Covey
Gaviidae Convenience
Indulge and Bloom
Jessica McClintock
Juut Salon
JV and company
Maude Borup Chocolates
MO'R Designs
Morton's of Chicago
Presence
Regis Salon
R.F. Moeller
St. Croix Shop
Studio Vincent
Talbots/Women
Vitamin World

Plaza
Eddie Bauer Premier Store
Halls Plaza
Mark Shale
Saks Fifth Avenue
Adrienne Vittadini
Ann Taylor
Anthropologie
April Cornell
BCBG Max Azria
bebe
Betsey Johnson
Carolee
Casual Corner
Chico's
Express
Harold's
HomeGrown
J. Jill
Maggie Shepherd
Mimi Maternity
Petite Sophisticate
St. John
Talbots
Tommy Bahama
Victoria's Secret
White House/Black Market
N. Valentino
Pinstripes
A/X Armani Exchange
Abercrombie & Fitch
Banana Republic
Brooks Brothers
Cole Haan
Gap
Guess?
J. Crew
Lucky Brand Jeans
Polo Ralph Lauren
Brighton Collectibles
Optical Shop of Aspen
Sunglass Hut
Watch Station
E.G. Geller
Enzo Angiolini
J'Amori
Johnston & Murphy
Renners Boots, Shoes & Repair
Steve's Shoes on West 47th St.
Scene Shoes
April Cornell
Baby Gap & Gap Kids
The Children's Place
Discovery Channel
Fâ€¢Aâ€¢O Schwarz
Gymboree
Limited Too
The Coach Store
Nicholas Luggage & Gifts
Aveda
Bang & Olufsen
Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Bath & Body Works
The Best of Kansas City
Crane & Co., Paper Makers
Diebels Sportsmens Gallery
Illuminations
Kaplan's Fabrics
MAC Cosmetics
Origins
Paper Source
Perfect Scents
The Sharper Image
Swarovski
Three Dog Bakery
Anteks
Eddie Bauer Home
Function Junction
Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn Kids
Restoration Hardware
Scandia Down
Superlatives
Thomas Kinkade at Four Star Gallery
Williams-Sonoma
Z Gallerie
Helzberg Diamonds
Montanari Fine Art Jewelers
Swirk Jewelry
Tivol, Inc.
Vinca Fine Jewelry
Diebels Sportsmens Gallery

As said before, the Plaza is more than just shopping, it's a central point in the city filled with art, pedestrians, architecture and thousands of condos and apartments. The list for the Plaza doesn't include any restaurants or food shops. Any questions Mpls?

mpls · Post by **mpls** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 4:19 pm

yes, how many blocks is the plaza? it sounds more like a district of downtown than a block, which is what gaviidae is. not a correct comparison.

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 4:28 pm

Then why did you "guarantee" Gaviidae had better shops if you didn't even know what the Plaza was??? The Plaza is considered the first shopping center in the counrty and is now the model for many new urban projects taking over the retail landscape. Now I know how Jesse Ventura got elected up there.

mpls · Post by **mpls** » Fri Aug 29, 2003 11:13 pm

i assumed that we were comparing shopping blocks to shopping blocks, not shopping blocks to shopping districts. don't insult jesse ventura, he was a great governor. he got us lrt. and don't talk to me about electing what you think are incompetent officials, after all, wasn't it the missouri voters who re-elected a dead man?

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Sat Aug 30, 2003 2:27 am

Yeah, Lawrence isn't in Missouri, it's in Kansas. You know, the Jayhawkers. I'm proud that the state of Missouri voted for a dead man rather than John Ashcroft.

And I can totally understand how you thought "Plaza" meant a small shopping block instead of an open area usually located near urban buildings and often featuring walkways, trees and shrubs, places to sit, and sometimes shops...I mean that's just how Webster defines it...do you have Webster's in your Paul Bunyan log cabins?

Oh yeah, and if you want, I can compile a list of every store in downtown Minneapolis with everything in downtown St. Paul and compare it to the Plaza.

mpls · Post by **mpls** » Sat Aug 30, 2003 12:03 pm

paul bunyan, you hate him too now?

i don't think you want to compare minneapolis' retail to a districts retail, you are really under-estimating it. and besides, there is no way it could be complete, so it would be useless.

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Sat Aug 30, 2003 4:04 pm

You're right...let's spare you of the embarassment.

mpls · Post by **mpls** » Sun Aug 31, 2003 12:19 am

ok, compile me a complete list of minneapolis' downtown retail and and kansas city's downtown retail; that should settle this. remember though, complete list.

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Sun Aug 31, 2003 2:02 pm

We were talking about the Plaza...not downtown KC. What type of schooling did you attend?

mpls · Post by **mpls** » Sun Aug 31, 2003 3:12 pm

fine then, compile a list of every store in downtown minneapolis, and we can compare it to the plaza, i just thought kc might stand a better chance if we were to include its entire downtown. get to work.

KCforumer · Post by **KCforumer** » Sun Aug 31, 2003 4:46 pm

mpls, kc doesn't need to include downtown to "stand a better chance". the plaza alone will do. you have to understand, the plaza is like a second downtown. it serves as an uptown for kc. the plaza is actually 5 miles south of downtown. basically, kc has a linear central urban core that is 5 miles long, from downtown in the north, to the plaza in the south. the crown center, westport, and midtown districts are all in between. if you compared kc's central urban core (downtown to plaza), it'd surely blow away downtown minneapolis.

KCRag Forum