Full Circle?

Just wanted to keep my badgering of Full Circle fresh, but actually, wanted to say one last thing since I am about to finally change the poll.

What will happen to Full Circle? I see three options. Stay in 50 Penn. Move north (Classen Curve). Move south (inner city/downtown). Well, I suppose there are two other cardinal directions they could move, but I'll go ahead and claim ESP by saying I have secret information that Full Circle will not locate in Bethany...no offense to Bethany.

Who knows what they will do. They all seem to be an equal shot, meaning 1/3 likelihood of staying in 50 Penn, which is not very likely, and same for moving to Classen Curve, or moving downtown. There are reasons for each. But 50 Penn ownership was recently transferred to another out of state owner. More and more of the retail court is becoming vacant. All that's left in 50 Penn now is Full Circle and Belle Isle Brewery.

50 Penn is an otherwise strong property, fully-leased for the office tower. But its days as a retail destination are truly over, despite that Full Circle has invested a lot in the location which has truly become more charming as its aged. Is the charming bookstore vibe important to them? If so, obviously an old building downtown will be better for recreating that than a new Rand Elliott-designed building in Nichols Hills.

It makes sense to move. They're in a losing situation by sticking it out in 50 Penn. Moving could be an absolutely monumental opportunity if they chose downtown, specially, Midtown or A-Alley, some of the north-downtown neighborhoods with proximity to Heritage Hills. This is somewhere that Full Circle could really thrive, and also be a catalyst for a complimentary retail mix that was far more symbiotic than 50 Penn was even in its heyday.

So what will happen? Stay? Go? Go Classen, or go downtown? Who knows. I would really hope to see them go downtown. I just think that could really create a special bookstore. There are so many great old buildings that would be awesome for Full Circle. We talk so much about how badly we want downtown retail to happen and be locally-driven at the same time. Full Circle would be a proper anchor (read: not like Bass Pro) that downtown could grow up around. Moving downtown is a move that would provide for a long, and interesting future for Full Circle. Moving further north to the newest suburban thing?

Upheaval in local grocery options

It looks like with Whole Foods coming to town, there is an upheaval underway already with the local grocery scene. Consider the number of local organic grocers within 1 mile of where Whole Foods ended up breaking ground. It looks like some of them may want to move downtown after all (especially after Crescent Market has been adamantly opposed to moving downtown for years until suddenly). And so now what we're seeing is downtown finally appearing as a viable retail alternative to the Chesapeake area...as long as your niche is going to be cannibalized by Whole Foods. And to be clear, this isn't saying Crescent Market, Forward Foods, or any other gourmet and organic grocers to name a few couldn't compete with Whole Foods which is often actually a benefit to the local gourmet and organic grocery options. Local options typically compete quite well against Whole Foods and Whole Foods brings more attention to the whole idea of gourmet and organic grocery shopping in cities it goes to. My belief is that Whole Foods may have gotten an agreement with Chesapeake that they'll raise the rent on Crescent Market and encourage them to leave the area, which is exactly what they're doing.

Crescent Market appears to be looking at areas with good access to Mesta Park and Heritage Hills, wanting to stay true to its base demographic. This means looking around Walker and around Broadway. Automobile Alley appears to be getting serious consideration, but the problem with A-Alley I see is that the current Crescent Market is well over 20,000 sf. Even if they utilize a more efficient floorplan I still don't see them downsizing their operations, meaning they'll need at least 10,000 sf on a ground floor in a well-renovated building, which may be hard to come by. Two other gourmet grocers that I won't name are also looking at downtown very seriously, and I understand there is a very strong possibility that the LEVEL Urban Apartments at 2nd/Walnut will sign a lease with an existing locally-known grocer that might not necessarily relocate a store but open a new one. Or it might relocate the store.


Is it possible that Chesapeake-area retailers moving downtown could stem the tide of movement further north? For the last 2-3 years it seems like the only option for retailers leaving 50 Penn Place or others coming to town was to go into the Classen Curve development, whereas they all could have very easily and successfully gone downtown. Full Circle, looking right at you..it's time to move downtown and get out of your building. Can anyone else imagine Crescent Market, other grocers, Full Circle, Hideaway, Shop Good, Rawhide, and others all in the same neighborhood? That would go many miles toward establishing the critical mass needed in terms of downtown retail to turn the tide and get the ball rolling.

On a sadder note, it appears that this Friday is the last day for Market C on NW 23rd. A great Uptown 23rd tenant for a long time, that added a lot to the really interesting and diverse mix that has blossomed there, it is a shame that it is going away. It will be replaced with more space for Cheever's catering.

A heckuva argument..

Which of the following describe the environment you would rather have your business or investment located:

1. An area in the middle of the north side that was once hot and desirable and is still an alright location across from a mall that's held on despite the economy and despite the anti-mall trend. The downside though is that the mall you are located in has NOT held on and has lost every good retail tenant it once had, with Balliet's moving further north, and Talbot's moving across the street. The office space above you is also not leasing as well as it was. The only public investment in the area are some minor intersection upgrades in the Northwest Expressway.

2. The urban core of the city where office vacancy has plummeted from 34% to 24% and office space continues to remain strong despite the economy. A $750 million, 850 foot tall skyscraper is going up in the neighborhood, among other projects. In the last 15 years public investments have included everything in MAPS 1, several streetscapes including the MidTown/Saint Anthony's streetscape surrounding where your store is, and tons of new housing coming in..the allure is being part of an exciting new urban trailblazing lifestyle in Oklahoma. There are more public investments planned for your neighborhood, to the tune of nearly $777 million. There is also a new $600 million highway about to open, and all of the surrounding residential neighborhoods are also rejuvenated. In all, within blocks of you has been billions of dollars in public investment and even more in private investment. You're also now a lot closer to your clientele across the metro.

You tell me where you'd rather invest or put a business...

Dear Full Circle: Please come downtown!

We've said so much about what it will take to get downtown retail on solid footing. I've exhausted the current state of retail as well as any and every study that's every been done (and ignored). What if we could get well-established local retailers to come downtown, like it once was? I think that is going to be by far our best bet for bringing downtown retail back. Well-established local retailers have already built up a reputation and a loyal customer base, so they would not have the burden of having to establish their own business and a new market at the same time.

As Marty Dillon moves forward with renovations to the Tower Theater in Uptown, there is also the likelihood that he will move his longtime family-owned MG Novelty party store to the storefronts attached to the Tower Theater--which would be a huge boon for Uptown in addition to to the theater which will be a multi-use events center. There is also an emerging retail area developing in Bricktown where Oklahoma Avenue crosses the Bricktown Canal--we've recently seen the opening of the Bricktown Candy Co, Peachwave Frozen Yogurt, and the Red Dirt Marketplace, and Envy possibly moving across the tracks--joining the existing stores like the Red Dirt Emporium and Put a Cork In It. Here you will have 6 possibly more retailers in the same block. If retail takes over the languishing Bricktown Canal area (which has gone slightly downhill while the rest of the district has made huge improvement) it will go a long ways toward putting a retail foothold back in downtown.

So, is anyone in the mood for a slam dunk for downtown retail? What if we could get Full Circle Bookstore to move downtown? We all know 50 Penn is being abandoned by all of its respectable tenants and we expect Full Circle to be no different eventually. They can't be the lone holdout in what has essentially become an upscale Crossroads, they need to start thinking about relocating, and I am sure they're already on top of it..who knows, they might even be in talks already with Chesapeake for Classen Curve Phase 2. Personally though, I think Full Circle needs to buck the trend and avoid going to Classen Curve like everyone else. Full Circle NEEDS to do something outside the box in order to maintain its unique identity, and I can't see Rand Elliott preserving that. Full Circle needs downtown, not Classen Curve, not anywhere else. The advantages that downtown and only downtown can offer Full Circle are as follows:

1. The appearance of a legitimate bookstore in a building that looks comfortable and "worn in."
2. Proximity to an emerging demographic of young professionals calling OKC home instead of fleeing from here.
3. Proximity to OCU and the thousands of college students that will study in downtown within a few years (OCU Law, ACM, OBU MBA, etc).
4. Following the example of the other examples of great bookstores..Elliott Bay Book Co in Seattle, Powell's in Portland, Harvard Book Store, Book People in Austin, and so on. This could get Full Circle on lists of greatest bookstores.
5. The opportunity to be at the center of the community and trailblaze the return of downtown retail, and benefit from being first to the scene.
6. Better proximity to all of the affluent areas of OKC, including SW OKC and Norman, not just the north side. There is not a single bookstore between downtown and Norman, despite tons of affluent and educated areas. 73170 is highest income ZIP code in OKC metro.
7. How could you pass up the potential of the following building:

And it would be across the street from this:


I think Full Circle CAN sell some books here, if you ask me. I think this has potential to be incredibly successful. Downtown OKC Inc needs to bring everything they've got to the table in order to lure Full Circle. The MidTown Redevelopment guys need to do whatever it takes to make it happen. Downtown enthusiasts need to mount a good email campaign to Full Circle. Full Circle shoppers need to mention it to them every time they are in the store.