KCRag Forum

There were a lot of people out shopping today - the Oak Park Mall parking lot on the north side was totally full, which I've only seen during the holidays. Perhaps the three-day weekend has to do with it?

DeadManWalking wrote:

nota wrote:

DeadManWalking wrote:Lets not forget the way retail works. January is the slowest month of the year for retail establishments following the heavy christmas traffic. Don't worry nota, I am sure Zona Rosa is just feeling the regular effects of the retail world.

DMW-I worked in retail management all my adult life. ZR was quite slow to my eye during December as well.

The hustle and bustle just was not there.

I have worked in retail for the last 6 years, and right now at my store, we are super slow, and the store is cutting as many jobs and costs as possible. We have done this every year since I started. I have seen sales figures for the past few years and the slowest month is always January. Sales in December usually are stronger than the first 3 months of the year combined.

That is standard for retail. STANDARD.

I was out at Zona Rosa in November on a weekend and I must say that the place was crowded, and it was hard to get around in there, and there were very few parking spaces.

They will have to have day in and day out traffic and business to keep up with the rents that they have to pay.

I was in Barnes and Noble fergawdsake and there were more employees than shoppers. Some of the stores I visited had no one in them but employees.

Another reason you might be seeing a lot less people is the fact that the weather has been extremely cold lately.

Yeah, another drawback to the style. Weather. But I'll bet Oak Park didn't have any cold weather problems.

FYI nota...

Every major mall developer (Simon, General Growth, Macerich et. al) is no longer building indoor only malls. Most are completely outdoor or mostly outdoor. And these are the companies whose bread and butter is shopping malls.

As Steiner once asked, "Who ever has an anniversary dinner at a shopping mall?" The goal is creating a stronger sense of place with stronger aesthetic surroundings that fit better into neighborhoods...not giant beige boxes a la Oak Park Mall.

trailerkid wrote:FYI nota...

Every major mall developer (Simon, General Growth, Macerich et. al) is no longer building indoor only malls. Most are completely outdoor or mostly outdoor. And these are the companies whose bread and butter is shopping malls.

Which is weird since all the oldest malls, such as Blue Ridge and Antioch, started out as what they are building today and then later had a roof put over the central walkway.

trailerkid wrote:FYI nota...

Every major mall developer (Simon, General Growth, Macerich et. al) is no longer building indoor only malls. Most are completely outdoor or mostly outdoor. And these are the companies whose bread and butter is shopping malls.

As Steiner once asked, "Who ever has an anniversary dinner at a shopping mall?" The goal is creating a stronger sense of place with stronger aesthetic surroundings that fit better into neighborhoods...not giant beige boxes a la Oak Park Mall.

And since I've been around the block a few more times than you considering my advanced age, I know what goes around comes around.

Next time enclosed malls become popular, they will once again say it is "new and innovative" just like they are saying about the outdoor malls now.

There is no place I would have an anniversary dinner at ZR either.

However, my whole post was kind of regarding maintenance (or lack of) at ZR. It isn't even a year old and already maintenance problems are there.

nota wrote:

trailerkid wrote:FYI nota...

Every major mall developer (Simon, General Growth, Macerich et. al) is no longer building indoor only malls. Most are completely outdoor or mostly outdoor. And these are the companies whose bread and butter is shopping malls.

As Steiner once asked, "Who ever has an anniversary dinner at a shopping mall?" The goal is creating a stronger sense of place with stronger aesthetic surroundings that fit better into neighborhoods...not giant beige boxes a la Oak Park Mall.

And since I've been around the block a few more times than you considering my advanced age, I know what goes around comes around.

Next time enclosed malls become popular, they will once again say it is "new and innovative" just like they are saying about the outdoor malls now.

There is no place I would have an anniversary dinner at ZR either.

However, my whole post was kind of regarding maintenance (or lack of) at ZR. It isn't even a year old and already maintenance problems are there.

1. I agree with you. It is a trend. I particularly like this trend of outdoor malls/new urban development better than Oak Parkesque developments.

2. Would you like for me to show you the many broken parking meters in Downtown Lawrence?

trailerkid wrote:
2. Would you like for me to show you the many broken parking meters in Downtown Lawrence?

Only if you can show me that they were just installed in a brand new place just months ago. Otherwise, it isn't relevant.

I think the broken parking meter thing could be a sign of other problems that may arise. We shall see.

nota wrote:

trailerkid wrote:
2. Would you like for me to show you the many broken parking meters in Downtown Lawrence?

Only if you can show me that they were just installed in a brand new place just months ago. Otherwise, it isn't relevant.

I think the broken parking meter thing could be a sign of other problems that may arise. We shall see.

Yes...Steiner has a very poor track record...

Lofts at Zona Rosa are now leasing...

http://www.loftsatzonarosa.com/

wow, those prices are pretty damn high. Leasing one the same size as mine in the crossroads would cost $400.00 more a month!

tat2kc wrote:wow, those prices are pretty damn high. Leasing one the same size as mine in the crossroads would cost $400.00 more a month!

Its the same thing I've been telling you guys about New Urbanism over at Liberty. They can get a premium price because there is always some idiot willing to pay.

Has anyone seen a car at Zona Rosa with a parking ticket for not paying the meters? I never pay and I've parked at a meter for more than 90 minutes.

supastudio wrote:Has anyone seen a car at Zona Rosa with a parking ticket for not paying the meters? I never pay and I've parked at a meter for more than 90 minutes.

I think that paying the parking meters is purely optional at Zona Rosa-- it all goes to charity.

And indeed, I have been there and had a busted parking meter too.

Just a little bit of an update on Zona Rosa for those who care. I always cut through there to see what's happening on my way back home from Quik Trip. Today I saw a big truck on the second level of the parking garage and there were people walking back and forth carrying what looked like office equipment across the catwalk into one of the buildings. Yesterday I cruised around it and noticed that some of the other office spaces above the stores are now occupied. It looks like the place is slowly but surely filling up.

zlohban wrote:I use the B&N Library, nice chairs too!

this is kind of a funny-I belong to a book club that meets at B&N. All women. A man has started attending our meetings every time because he was there when we had our first couple of meetings. He has now started to read our books and everything. He's really nice and seems to enjoy it.

I just had a look at the Zona Rosa website. I was trying to figure out what the little brick building was attached to the corner of The Majestic. I looked up and happened to see that The Majestic is slated to be open on March 10th. I can tell you right now that there is no way in hell they are going to meet that deadline. I drove past it today and they were still working on some of the finishing touches for the outside of it. It didn't look like they had even gotten started on the inside and that is a pretty large building. I imagine that is going to take quite awhile. I'd guess another month at the very least.

ZR getting a sharper image as reported by the biz journal.

Does anybody actually buy things there?

That'd be a store I'd like to see in the P&L district.  Great store/street interaction w/ people getting massaged in the windows and such.

KCPowercat wrote: ZR getting a sharper image as reported by the biz journal.

Confirmed. I just drove through Zona Rosa and there was a sign that said ""Sharper Image Coming Soon" on one of the buildings on the center island (across from Express).  I'm not a big fan of the place myself but gadget fanatics will love it and it's one less space for them to fill. 

I've been noticing that activity there has continued to pick up over the last few months.  It's becoming a pain in the ass to cut across  at almost any time of day now.  Of course, that is a good thing.  It appears that there will be several new stores and restaraunts opening there by mid-spring.  I'm very interested to see what they start in on once the current phase is complete.

Sharper Image is a good pick-up for them. Although it seems they've opened way too many stores, it's still a somewhat unique tenant that generally locates in better malls and shopping centers. I'll be interested to see if they move in a more upscale direction after bringing in so many bargain basement type retailers (Dress Barn, Marshall's) in their first phase.

This will be a big Summer for Zona Rosa as they welcome the Majestic (June 10), a Gap multii-format, Build-a-Bear, and now Sharper Image in addition to full scale construction of their second phase to the north.