It seems that Cordish is planning a number of somewhat upscale tenants for the retail district surrounding Baltimore. Some of the clues they gave for tenant descriptions point to retailers like Sephora, Crate and Barrel, upscale women's accesories, upscale men's clothing, etc. I wasn't expecting any upscale retail much less retail that would be exclusive in the region.
Will the planned retail fly? Right now, downtown is anything but a retail powerhouse. But if the planned tenants are signed, Downtown KC will become something of a player as a retail destination. I know they aren't building a mall or something huge, but the plans point out a major step forward for retail downtown. Will it work?
Will upscale retail work in P&L?
-
trailerkid
- City Center Square
- Posts: 11284
- Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2002 4:49 pm
Will upscale retail work in P&L?
i think so, provided the restaurants and bars and other tenants are suficiently unique/attractive to suburbanites.
i am sure urban KCMO residents will appreciate Sephora and Crate + Barrel, et al, but clearly this is an attempt to reach out to the JoCo/Northland/East Jack middle class.
i dunno if people would come in droves to make special trips to Crate+Barrel (though maybe), but i think that a cohesive area with shops, walkability, restaurants, etc. will pull people in there.
plus, think about all the people moving downtown. the P+L district alone will have 1200 res units, and there are something like 10,000 res units downtown. that's a built-in customer base right there, since many of the downtown res units are directed towards those (statistically speaking) with disposable income: yuppies, empty nesters, gay people, etc.
upscale retail downtown does SOUND like a stretch, but so does LIFE downtown. haha. as long as Cordish gets good tenants that won't go elsewhere in the metro, the upscale stuff will succeed. if the P+L tenants sign with developments in JoCo or Lee's Summit or up north, then it probably won't succeed. i'd bet that it will though. there is enough demand in KCMO alone for these things that i think it'll succeed, and i think enough JoCo-types will make the trip into the city to make it work as well.
also, dont forget that downtown has a workday population of 90,000 or so, many of whom have money to spend. i can definitely picture lunch-hour or after-work trips to Crate+Barrel.
i am sure urban KCMO residents will appreciate Sephora and Crate + Barrel, et al, but clearly this is an attempt to reach out to the JoCo/Northland/East Jack middle class.
i dunno if people would come in droves to make special trips to Crate+Barrel (though maybe), but i think that a cohesive area with shops, walkability, restaurants, etc. will pull people in there.
plus, think about all the people moving downtown. the P+L district alone will have 1200 res units, and there are something like 10,000 res units downtown. that's a built-in customer base right there, since many of the downtown res units are directed towards those (statistically speaking) with disposable income: yuppies, empty nesters, gay people, etc.
upscale retail downtown does SOUND like a stretch, but so does LIFE downtown. haha. as long as Cordish gets good tenants that won't go elsewhere in the metro, the upscale stuff will succeed. if the P+L tenants sign with developments in JoCo or Lee's Summit or up north, then it probably won't succeed. i'd bet that it will though. there is enough demand in KCMO alone for these things that i think it'll succeed, and i think enough JoCo-types will make the trip into the city to make it work as well.
also, dont forget that downtown has a workday population of 90,000 or so, many of whom have money to spend. i can definitely picture lunch-hour or after-work trips to Crate+Barrel.
-
tat2kc
- Bryant Building
- Posts: 4196
- Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2003 6:32 pm
- Location: freighthouse district
- Contact:
Will upscale retail work in P&L?
I think the important thing for dowtown retailers is not necessarily high end as much as it needs to be unique to the region. Thats what is needed to draw people downtown.
Are you sure we're talking about the same God here, because yours sounds kind of like a dick.
Will upscale retail work in P&L?
^^^
Also, downtown has the potential to have many more residents w/in walking distance than the Plaza. In P&L, some will live on top of the stores.
I think the residential base will be an important part of the success, not how many are drawn in from the burbs. The initial success of P&L will rely on the proper balance of stores that can be supported by the neighborhood first and regional as the second consideration. I think P&L will fail if they think it can be entirely supported by the region/metro. There is too much retail around the metro to draw suburbanites on a daily basis.
Also, downtown has the potential to have many more residents w/in walking distance than the Plaza. In P&L, some will live on top of the stores.
I think the residential base will be an important part of the success, not how many are drawn in from the burbs. The initial success of P&L will rely on the proper balance of stores that can be supported by the neighborhood first and regional as the second consideration. I think P&L will fail if they think it can be entirely supported by the region/metro. There is too much retail around the metro to draw suburbanites on a daily basis.
___________
City guide via MAX bus
City guide via MAX bus
-
trailerkid
- City Center Square
- Posts: 11284
- Joined: Mon Oct 07, 2002 4:49 pm
Will upscale retail work in P&L?
What I'm trying to get at is that stuff like Sephora and C&B isn't neighborhood retail. These paricular stores are the type of stuff that would go in Oak Park or the Plaza-- which are both super-regional shopping centers. Cordish was NOT brought in to get neighborhood restaurants/retail (corner deli, flower shop, drug store, dry cleaner), but to specifically land big name tenants. My issue with the retail portion is that it seems like an awfully big jump for downtown to go from no retail to having destination shops and restaurants reliant on regional dollars.
It's often said that retail follows rooftops so I can see why it is only natural for P&L to come out with some strong retail. I just find it a little risky to come out of the box with all guns firing on both the retail and restaurants/bars portions of the project.
It's often said that retail follows rooftops so I can see why it is only natural for P&L to come out with some strong retail. I just find it a little risky to come out of the box with all guns firing on both the retail and restaurants/bars portions of the project.