The game of downtown retail

I did a very, very bad thing. I sent an email many months ago to Alison Oshel, who is the wonderful Director of Community Redevelopment at the Greater OKC Chamber and did not read that she got back with me until just now. This is an especially egregious accident on my part, considering that I wrote a pretty negative appraisal of the job she is doing. She responded, basically informing me of what she does, as if she needs to. I then apologized and asked her if I could ask a few questions, which I'd put up as an "interview" on here. It probably looks like I ignored her and disrespected her, but sometimes you lose track of emails, and I feel very bad about this.

But here is the interview, and you can compare/contrast this with a rather negative post that I wrote back in 2009.

Q: How does the Chamber, or you specifically, go about recruiting retail for OKC?
A: We provide market research and site analysis. The research is assembled into marketing materials that are disseminated to our area brokers and developers for use in their recruitment efforts. We provide site analysis as needed and we update our market research continually. I have attached some samples of the marketing materials we compiled this year.

Q: What are some specific examples of this process at work?
A: We target retailers not yet in our market and meet with them. We have met with Whole Foods, COSTCO, REI, California Pizza Kitchen, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Paper Source, Free People and at least a dozen others and most have indicated an initial interest in our market after we were able to demonstrate to them that OKC is a large market with high disposable income. Several of these prospects have been here for multiple site visits and at least two have requested site analyses for locations that they have zeroed in on. I believe we will see 1 or 2 of those listed above in our market within 18-24 months. We have NOT met with Nordstrom’s because they notoriously expect a giant public incentive (I heard in one case $40 million!) to come to any new market.

Q: What kind of efforts are made at conventions and on the road to meet with retailers?
A: We lease space at the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) convention and build a booth with meeting rooms and a reception area. We offer our meeting rooms and brochure racks to any OKC broker or developer to use during the convention. This is the largest outlay of cash from our retail program but, in the good years, more than 55,000 retailers and developers attend this convention so it is a must for anyone trying to promote retail. Because space at the show is expensive, some of our area brokers/developers are extremely appreciative of having the ability to host their meetings in our space. This is not a trade show—it is a place to have meetings and to make deals. Both Jane Jenkins and Jim Cowan were our guests at this convention this past April.

Q: Every area of the metro, except downtown, was recently in store for a lifestyle center (most of these are now stalled)--how does downtown compete, and what is the plan for making downtown stand on its own as a feasible retail market?
A: We target national retail developers who have downtown development experience. We have met with a number of these firms to talk with them about and invite them to consider developing in Core to Shore. There are opportunities which exist in Core to Shore for concentrated retail which do not exist anywhere else in downtown. We have hosted site visits for a number of national developers. I am hosting a group from Atlanta today and tomorrow, in fact.

It’s not, by any stretch, an easy game and the fruits of our efforts which began in 2007 are just now starting to yield results. Whole Foods, and other retailers like them, already had their 2010 store openings announced when we first met with them in 2007—so if we don’t get a Whole Foods in 2010, it shouldn’t surprise anyone. But if we do get a Whole Foods in 2010, I believe the Chamber’s retail program can claim some credit. The Chamber lays the groundwork with our marketing materials and research to help “make the sale” but we must have good retail shopping centers to offer retail prospects so our development and brokerage community is tasked with “closing the deal”. So, I guess I’m saying it takes a village and, thankfully, we do all seem to be working in concert.

Lastly, retail is the hardest type of real estate development to get financed right now so as much as you may not like hearing it, the national economy has slowed or stopped much of the progress that was being made. A number of the developments that you mentioned are back to the drawing board, changing their mix of retail, housing, office and hotel space in order to get their projects financed. I am hopeful that the strong will survive and we will see some quality developments when the cloud lifts.

/end response
________________________________________

I think that is very interesting, and extremely true, that you can have the best retail development task force in the world, and if you don't have any decent developments for retailers to lease space in, you won't get the retailers. I think since this email, some of those retail development goals HAVE been met with success. We now have Whole Foods, Anthropologie, and an outlet mall--major kudos to Ms. Oshel.

I think the answer to this dilemma is obvious. We need more space, and if downtown had desirable retail space, Oshel, Jane Jenkins, and others, would work hard to get it filled with great tenants. But all of these very-capable professionals can't make banks loosen financing, and can't make developers come up with resources to put into a project featuring downtown retail. And it won't happen until there is a large, desirable, contiguous development for retail to go in--one storefront here and there won't do it, these prestigious retailers like to locate together.

OKC Business newspaper agrees, as the subtitle on an article from yesterday reads: "Despite interest from national high-end retailers, until a suitable lifestyle center is built, they won’t come"

The latest on UNP

Here is the new updated flier for the University North Park project. This is an absolute crime. That whole deal is as corrupt as it gets. The old switch and bait, once the citizens give the developer the TIF he wants.

What's a shame is that there are other developers who build shoddy strip mall crap, probably a little better than this, who still play by the rules and pay property taxes and don't get the city to build parks and infrastructure for them. What kind of a message does this say toward that? What kind of a message does this say in terms of validating the free market? All this is: corruption, cronyism, lack of vision, and incompetence.

And the saddest thing is that OU's foundation was behind this project from the beginning.

"It's [not] the economy, stupid"

Everyone stop what you're doing, there's a really quick important message you need to see: Stop blaming the economy. It's getting old. By now, if you're a successful developer whose head isn't up your bum, you've figured out how to make things work.

This guy (Stanton Nelson), is not a successful developer. His project, the University North Park/University Town Center (not), has been in limbo for a few years. It started with a bang, winning approval from Norman residents for a TIF district which helped pay for basic infrastructure, lured an Embassy Suites hotel as an anchor, and he was able to build big retail anchors such as a Super Target and Kohl's among others.

Then the problem came with what was next: The lifestyle center, which he was contractually obligated to build, was supposed to be built in the next phase, due east (across the super-nice 24th Street with curves that the city built him) from the Target. Was it the economy, or was it that he was never prepared or willing to build the lifestyle center from the beginning? You decide. But one thing is clear, this guy was a clown from the beginning, and Normanites were delusional to ever believe him while he was blowing smoke and naming potential tenants that wanted to sign with him, tenants such as: Oh yeah, Restoration Hardware, Banana Republic, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Trader Joe's, a Whole Foods of course, and a whole host of other big-name retailers that OKC and Tulsa have even been clamoring for (except Tulsa already has several of them). First mistake: real developers don't drop names like that. Second mistake: real developers don't do things contingent on taxpayer help, without which their project is doomed. Third mistake (lookin at you, OU): real developers don't name a project after a university that is located 3-4 miles away.

This guy is not a real developer.

Now Norman is looking to move on. He will likely not be involved in this development much longer, so Norman is hoping for the best case scenario: move on, shut him down with penalties, and get a more competent developer to come in. Sounds good.

The problem is that it hinges on the development of the Legacy Park. The contract the city and he entered into was that the city would build the park, he would build the lifestyle center. If one party failed, the failing party would pay a penalty to the other, in this case, it will be the developer. The city will spend $5.9 million on the park and then probably get that back under the terms of the penalties, but in order to prevent that from happening, the developer is refusing to donate the land to the city in the first place, which was also in the contract.

He's citing economic problems for why he can't donate the land to the city. It's great that he's looking out for the city's best fiscal interest, but it's plainly obvious he's just trying to prevent what would proceed after that from his failure to develop the lifestyle center, I believe by 2016 (it is now 2011, obviously..4-5 years into the development schedule of this project). Call a spade nothing but a spade. The city has the money because it comes from the TIF, which has been generating a lot of revenue ever since Target went in, and would generate even more revenue for the city if Stanton Nelson were actually a serious developer capable of pulling this project off.

Here's my take: Recall James Carville's famous quote, "It's the economy, stupid." In this case, Mr. Nelson, "It's not the economy, stupid. It's you." Look all around the metro, and even more, look in some of the cities across the nation that are still being very successful. Large developments are still occurring, quite contrary to Nelson's lame argument that "nobody is building lifestyle centers right now." Which begs the question, if that were true, then what ARE they building? Because Moore is moving forward with the Fritts Farm project (Target has already broken ground WITHOUT taxpayer subsidies in this case), the Moore Warren is fixing to pull of another ambitious expansion that will make it truly impressive, and among countless other projects, even Midwest City is going forward with the next expansion phase of their town center which is far better than anything built in this area of Norman lately. In West OKC, the walls have been going up for a few months on the massive new outlet mall out there. You don't think that project could be pulled off if "nobody is building lifestyle centers right now" ?? The City of OKC invested in that project purely to defend its tax base from the other ankle-biting suburbs.

Clearly the economy is not stopping the momentum in Moore, which is continuing to literally suck the life out of Norman's tax base at this point. This is something that the City Council, looking for its livelihood to support its civic services and infrastructure, is most concerned with. A guy who can not build a lifestyle center in a development that is already anchored by an Embassy Suites, a city-developed park, a Super Target, a Kohl's, and more--and then makes lame excuses for himself, is not just a failure in this particular project, but is a total all-around business failure. I am a college kid, give me a chunk of land already anchored by all of these things that other retailers would clamor to be around, and I could do better than what Stanton Nelson wants to finish out his development with: Jack in the Box, GameStop, Portrait Studio, Discount Tires.

I think penalties are a euphemism for how the City of Norman should treat this guy, who must be a secret double agent developer working for Moore on a mission to prevent Norman from growing its tax base and retail amenities. That is the only explanation I can think of. I'd say the city needs to file as many actions as possible to take this guy to the cleaners literally (or whatever he built instead of say, the GAP, or Dillard's).

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.

The new urbanism of Midwest City

This is a post about the Midwest City Town Center. I realize that the Town Center is basically a suburban strip mall for the most part, but there is the small slice in the middle of it that is actually well-planned. Because well-planned retail spaces are such a rare commodity in the OKC metro, I will focus exclusively on that and ignore the vast expanses of the unacceptable that comprise this development.

Oh, and let me address the location. MWC? Yeah, I wouldn't have thought MWC had the potential for this nice of a project either. But actually the location really is a huge selling point, right in front of the main visitor's gate to Tinker AFB, I-40 goes through an open depression between the Town Center and Tinker, and there is another layer of traffic being carried along SE 29th Street, which is a very busy arterial through the Mid-Del area. The traffic counts have to be similar to Memorial/Penn or I-35 through Moore, which I believe is over 100,000 cars a day.

The Town Center consists for the most part of storefronts built up to the sidewalk along Mid-America Boulevard. In the median of Mid-America Blvd is a landscaped median with walking trails, reminiscent in some ways of a real boulevard.




In my opinion, this has the potential to become a great space as it matures over time. The lawn is smallish, but broad enough that it can play host to events. MWC really could try to pull of something like a summer blues festival in the green, or a community chili cook-off, or whatever kind of event would be most embraced by the residents of Midwest City (55,000 of them in the 2000 census, and 2010 will reflect some decent growth in Eastern Oklahoma County). As a suburban bedroom community of OKC and Tinker AFB, I imagine it would be similar to community events that exist in Moore or other bedroom communities.

One of the things that makes this a real, legitimate town center that to some extent is capable of standing on its own from the mess of Wal-Mart/JC Penney's/Lowe's/restaurant pad sites is that Mid-America Blvd is a real street. It has prominent egress and ingress at 29th Street and goes through the development and connects to the neighborhood behind it, where it opens up and splits--in the middle of it is MWC City Hall and other city buildings. The neighborhood behind it is largely old and run-down, but it shows that there are interesting urban redevelopment opportunities for bad areas. You could ostensibly drive through the connection between the neighborhood behind the Town Center and SE 29th without even realizing the presence of an enormous strip mall until you get into SE 29th. Because I forgot to snap a pic myself, here's a Google streetview image of the approach on Mid-America Blvd coming from the neighborhood north of the Town Center:


In order to actually achieve the effect of the lifestyle center portion dominating the interior of the Town Center, the storefronts leading up to Mid-America Blvd approaching from other streets resemble sort of a lead-up to the lifestyle center. On one side the shops come right up to the sidewalk of the street, whereas on another side it opens up to the sea of parking that is intended for one of the big box retailers like JC Penney's and others. Because it is a step down, there is not nearly the effect of the "Main Street" going through the development--but it provides continuity that keeps the influence of the parking lots away from the "Main Street."




And lastly, an important part of why this is a successfully masterplanned development is that the architecture of certain buildings stands out. It has the intention of being a charming hodge podge of storefronts that work together in a linear pattern. The spots that stick out the most have been given particular attention. Surprisingly, the lifestyle-oriented tenants of the "Main Street" like Panera or Starbucks don't occupy any of these keystone storefronts.




Obviously the rest of the Town Center just completely cancels out anything positive along Mid-America Blvd, but it's so far out in front ahead of the competition among other supersized retail centers in the metro (like Westgate Marketplace, 19th Street in Moore, Memorial/Penn, etc). This is a shining example of redevelopment, as well--other older, lower or middle income suburbs of OKC such as Del City, Bethany, Warr Acres, Britton (technically OKC now), The Village, and others should be paying close attention to this. Not only has MWC transformed an area that was once blighted, they've also vastly improved its reputation and image, set its tax coffers flush with new sales revenues, and positioned itself to be more competitive in economic development. Even suburbs that are larger, growing faster, and more prosperous such as Edmond, Yukon, Moore, Norman--even these cities should be looking at the MWC Town Center as an example in my opinion, not just the Del Citys and Bethanys.

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.

Cityshot XLVII

Peachwave Frozen Yogurt, coming to Bricktown.

Whole Foods official

Officially coming to OKC. More coming in a few weeks, in the way of details. Locating by Nichols Hills, near the Classen Curve development.

Sweet Jeebus, look at that selection of grapes and mangos.

Oh my goodness, look at that selection of cheese.

Eureka, look at those different varieties of plums!

It's a dream come true, you can pick the freshest ingredients for yourself at the cold bar.

Yes sir, now that's a sauce aisle.

--This message brought to you by Okies for Whole Foods.

Buyer's Remorse in OKC

The goods: Whole Foods. Trader Joe's. Saks. Nordstroms. H&M. Restoration Hardware. Urban Outfitters. Anthropologie. Ikea. And more. Why won't these stores come to OKC? What's wrong with retail in OKC that seems to be keeping these stores out, while they continue to locate in cities such as Richmond, Birmingham, Tulsa, Omaha, Des Moines, Albuquerque, Boise, Fort Worth, and so on? What can we citizens of OKC do, if anything at all, to improve the situation?

Look at all of those cities that have these stores we want but can't get. The list goes on and on, as I included some of these cities earlier.. and a LOT of these cities are peers or lesser when compared to OKC. That is what's surprising, so what is it going to take to get these stores in OKC, an act of Congress? What is it that is bringing these stores to other cities? Well, simply put..good retail space available. If Urban Outfitters or Anthropologie were to locate in OKC, which we believe they want to, where would they go? A strip mall on Memorial Road? Penn Square Mall? 50 Penn Place? Maybe a kiosk inside one of the metro's top Wal-Marts? That's pretty much the state of retail in Oklahoma City, a lack of a suitable shopping center that meets the standards of these higher-end "elite" chains.

Let's examine Birmingham, which has a Whole Foods in the Cahaba Village development located in the suburb of Mountain Brook, Alabama. Cahaba Village (pictured) is a true mixed-use urban town center development that passes my scrutiny. It's not that big, more than half (50,000 sf) of its 96,000 sf of retail are the Whole Foods--but the project is actually mostly residential, which several floors of chic lofts above the retail on the street level. The same company, Bayer Properties, has developed a collection of similar lifestyle centers dubbed "The Summit" and was until recently attempting a project in Edmond (before Wall Street tanked). "The Summit" in Birmingham is anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue(*) (much like Utica Square in Tulsa), and a huge Belk. Other "elite" retailers included in The Summit in the Ham are: Anthropologie(*), BCBGMAXAZRIA(*), bebe(*), J. Jill, Juicy Couture(*), New York & Co, White House Black Market, Urban Outfitters(*), Tommy Bahama(*), Lucky(*), J. Crew, Brooks Brothers(*), Banana Republic, Coach, Restoration Hardware(*), Coldwater Creek, Pottery Barn, Apple, and more. And yes, this is Birmingham, Alabama we're talking about. A city about the same size as OKC (slightly smaller) with a poor, industrial reputation, only one Fortune 500, and worse-off demographics than OKC. (The retailers with a star next to them denote ones that do not exist in Oklahoma City.) A tenant list of The Summit in Louisville and New Orleans wasn't quite as elite as Birmingham, but it did include at least 5 of the names, but no Saks, etc. In Louisville, many of the stores are instead in Mall St. Matthews, and we all know New Orleans has a lot of elite retailers. Many of the stores in The Summit in the Ham are also in the Riverchase Galleria, in the nearby suburb of Hoover as well--including Brooks Brothers(*), J. Crew, Banana Republic, WHBM, J. Jill, NY & Co, etc--it surprises me that Birmingham has two of these, when OKC only has one or none. Birmingham also has a new outlet mall, WaterMark Place located in Bessemer, Ala. From the shopping perspective, Birmingham has got it going on! And I'll be honest, I have a soft spot for the Southeast--best part of the country, with its genuine people, urban cities, mountainous topography, delicious sweet tea, and pleasant weather.

Another city: Richmond. There, the new Short Pump Town Center includes an Urban Outfitters(*), Guess(*), Macy's, H&M(*), Jacardi Paris(*), Fossil(*), Levi's(*), Nordstrom(*)..and many more stores. The Stony Point Fashion Park (pictured) in west Richmond carries many of the elite retailers that Short Pump doesn't..Saks(*), Anthropologie(*), BCBGMAXAZRIA(*), BOSS(*), Brooks Brothers(*), Coach(*), Cole Haan(*), Louis Vuitton(*), MAC(*), Restoration Hardware(*), Oakley(*), and more. Clearly Richmond raises the bar even higher, with Louis Vuitton and other Stony Point retailers. It's true, Virginia is for lovers (of first-class shopping).

Another city: Omaha. So far the most interesting lifestyle center I've come across is Village Point, off of Dodge Rd in far west Omaha--the center has a FLW prairie school motif--along with the typical stores that these lifestyle centers come with, Coach, Fossil(*), J. Crew, J. Jill, Banana Republic, Jos. A. Bank, and so on.. so not really anything OKC doesn't have. Then you add in Regency Court, which has more of the Penn Square-echelon tenants..WHBM, Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma--and Anthropologie(*). One Pacific Place has more of the same pretty much..Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Chico's..so basically the same as Spring Creek in Edmond. Except that it also has California Pizza Kitchen, which I know OKC would love to get its hands on. Look at this list of local retail in the Old Market, the "Bricktown/Brady" part of DT Omaha, bookstores, clothing stores, art galleries, wine bodegas, and more--supposedly around a hundred retailers. That's awesome. Oh, and they've had Whole Foods for a while and just announced that they're getting a Trader Joe's, the result of a community initiative to convince TJ to locate in Omaha. (Interestingly though, it's worth noting that Omaha doesn't have Macy's and is just getting an Apple Store in Village Point.) Aksarben Village and Midtown Crossing, which are huge mixed-use projects currently under construction, will add more to Omaha.

And we all knew it was coming.. I give you, Tulsa. Truth is, I always seem to lose people when I bring up the argument that Tulsa is still superior to OKC in many things, EVEN if our city is on NBA scoreboards and theirs isn't. But you're going to have to concede retail, or I will keep bringing this up time after time. The reason Tulsa has better elite retail options than OKC could be many..it could have to do with a time that Tulsa was more important than it now is, or that it is still home to the state's two highest-income ZIP codes, or it could be that Tulsans are better at supporting high-end retailers (maybe there's more pressure to buy high-end things for people who live in Tulsa than in OKC?). But I would argue all of that is irrelevant and it really just boils down to this: Tulsa has Utica Square, easily Oklahoma's most elegant shopping center, which has ALL of Penn Square's upscale retailers in addition to several OKC doesn't have such as the brand-new Anthropologie(*), Saks(*), Miss Jackson's (a cool local dept store), Coach(*), and Restoration Hardware(*). Utica Square is 50 years old, and soon it will be placed on the National Register of Historic Places more than likely--but it still continues to boast the best retailer directory as well as shopping environment in all of Oklahoma. Utica Square is the standard for retail in this state (thanks mostly to its location at the heart of prestigious Midtown Tulsa), whether you like it or not.

To be certain, when you add up all of the "elite names" that Tulsa has that OKC does not (once you've gone into upscale restaurants like Fleming's and Wolfgang Puck Bistro that's opening in Brookside). The list gets extensive when you add to the Utica Square retailer list, other stores like Fossil, and then go on 71st Street to find an IMAX Theater, Dave & Buster's, a "Magnolia" Best Buy (I guess they're better somehow), Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and so on. Even if they're not retail, these are "elite names" with national recognition. OKC just lacks elite names with national recognition. Oh and they've also had Whole Foods in Brookside for almost 3 years now. Yes, it's only there because it was originally a Wild Oats (if you believe Tulsa was incapable of landing a separate Whole Foods), but after Whole Foods acquired Wild Oats they closed many of them, kept many of them smaller, and renovated and expanded a few others such as the Brookside store. Tulsa's Whole Foods is, by all means, a Whole Foods, however you slice it in order to denigrate Tulsa.

So we arrive at the inevitable conclusion.. OKC is lacking in this department, no matter how you slice it. We are working on it, however, or trying to at least. How many lifestyle centers have been proposed in the last 5 years? 10? 20? 30? Probably around 10, but you get my point..a LOT..and so far we have nothing to show for it. The sad fact is that in Oklahoma we are still building strip malls when the rest of the nation has moved on to building mostly lifestyle centers. There has not been a town center-type development built in Oklahoma since 1950, probably making us one of 5 states that don't have a new one. We've also pretty much come to the conclusion that in order to attract these types of developments and encourage the new trend to take root in Oklahoma, we may have to subsidize it a little. That's okay, Austin subsidized their hot new town center, The Domain--with a $20 million TIF district. Norman put up a TIF district for University North Park, and in exchange, all we got was a lousy strip mall. Edmond was prepared to go in on the Covell Town Center, even put the proposed Edmond convention center there, but the economy tanked and nothing has ever happened since. The only two projects that have come to fruition that somewhat resemble a step up from the traditional strip mall are Spring Creek in Edmond and the MWC Town Center in Midwest City. MWC is pretty much a huge strip mall with a small town center portion at the heart of it that is alright. There were some pretty good retail projects proposed, too..the factory outlets, Tuscana, Quail Springs Ranch, Bricktown Village, Bob Funk's other Kilpatrick Tpk development, a new lifestyle center currently proposed for Memorial/County Line, The Summit, Shops at Remington, Copper Creek Marketplace, University North Park, Riverwalk Plaza, Railway District, one that was proposed at 2nd/I-35 in Edmond, Kelley Pointe, Gaillardia Towne Center (developed office, but no retail), Crown Heights, The Waterfront, and more.. the list goes on for town center busts.

There is one bright spot, and that is the unconventional Classen Curve project. Now, I'm not dogging Classen Curve. I like Rand Elliott's work about 70% of the time, and this is no different..I am about 70% favorable toward this project, and the other 30% will no doubt come when all of these awesome new tenants open up. Classen Curve is going to be a special place for shopping in Oklahoma City, but it may be overhyped in my opinion. First the good news: The design is unique, innovative, and about as modern as you'll get in Oklahoma. The really good news is that super awesome tenants are popping up to be a part of this primarily because Chesapeake is behind it, and you can't go wrong with that. The bad news is that the site is only 95,000 sf total. About 20,000 sf, as I believe, will be taken up by the new Balliet's--which will be by far, one of the coolest local department stores around (women's-only). Balliet's has been in 50 Penn Place decades, and with everyone bailing there it made sense that they leave for somewhere else. Classen Curve is closer to Nichols Hills AND Rand even specially designed their two-story building just for them. In addition, virtually everyone in the know right now is saying that Whole Foods is currently building at Grand/Western where they tore down the funeral home last year. Classen Curve is an exciting project, Balliet's will be great and Whole Foods is a long time coming--but the remaining square footage is only just over 60,000 sf and there aren't ANY other spots that are even big enough for an Urban Outfitters, a H&M, or an Anthropologie--so none of that kind of retail will go there.

Chesapeake, who has been tight-lipped and refusing to release any details on this, most likely had a signed letter from Whole Foods before they tore the funeral home down. Now Chesapeake has torn down about 5 different apartment buildings along Grand between Western and 63rd, another on 63rd, and tons of site work has begun around the community gardens they put in off of Shartel. There is absolutely no telling what is going on but it is something HUGE. Most likely a lot of corporate expansion, which we can count on--except that Chesapeake has always been one to proudly announce anytime they break ground on a handful of new office buildings. It's the retail projects that they keep top secret for whatever reason. There is an overall masterplan here that was released a few years ago, but it really shows nothing north of 63rd. Looks like a mixed-use town center to the west of the headquarters, but one of the few things we do know is that the economic downturn has slowed Chesapeake's progression on their campus development.

Breather.

So much talk about suburban lifestyle centers. Suburban lifestyle centers in Birmingham, Richmond, Omaha.. talk about more urban developments like Utica Square and Chesapeake, but still nothing that really relates or adds anything to downtown. If there is anything that we have done an impeccable job of in OKC, it is focusing on our downtown before anything else and truly elevating it to become the beating heart of the metro. Why don't we try to get some of this retail we lack to come downtown instead of Far North, Edmond, or Norman? Why isn't downtown being proactive on the retail front before it gets beaten out by Edmond?

The answer is that a few people are acting. In a post the other day I mentioned the Red Dirt Marketplace project that is set to open on the Lower Canal in June. I'm very excited for this one and can't wait to check it out when I'm back home this summer. In fact, I believe that the local retailers is what downtown needs--and not chain retailers. Even though I still believe that there's no reason downtown shouldn't be focusing on landing your "urban essentials" like GAP and Apple (virtually every good retail downtown has a GAP, even Athens, Georgia..), I really believe in wanting to keep chains out to a certain extent.

But part of the problem with this is that downtown will absolutely REQUIRE some kind of anchor. Typically, in order to be successful, shopping centers require anchors. There is no anchor for downtown retail, although there are a few good smaller stores here and there. The concerning trend, a result most likely of lacking an anchor, is how quickly some good stores have gone out of business. Firefly Clothing, LiT Clothing, and the Crescent Market all went out of business in the last few months. Envy is still in business, to my knowledge, and I have heard that they may be locating on the street level of the Bricktown Canal right above where Chad Huntington is putting in his Red Dirt Marketplace, and where the Brewer's are putting in other new tenants as well. The problem with this is that it is still lacking an anchor and no matter how wishful the thinking, there is absolutely no way in hell that OKC is going to get a Nordstrom's or a Sak's that is not a part of a stellar shopping center project with a good developer behind it. In order to accomplish this, I propose 4 alternatives, each with varying degrees of desirability and their own pluses and minuses.

Starting with my least favorite alternative:

1. Allow Wal-Mart to come into downtown. Wal-Mart DOES do urban models, they exist in Dallas, Austin, Atlanta, and other cities--and they actually are kind of cool. The perfect site for an evil big box in my opinion is the site of The Hill, a doomed condo project that is destined to just sit as a mudpit for decades if we don't find another use for the land that doesn't really require street frontage, all of which was used up by the few crappy townhomes that DID get built in that project. A way to temper the evilness of this proposal would be to try and get Target to come in, instead--their urban stores make more sense with the urban demographic, anyway. The whole point to all of this is that it would be an anchor to bring retail in that would require the smallest city subsidy (maybe for Target) if any at all, and a natural development influx could follow afterward.

2. A huge subsidy for a town center project in downtown that includes a Sak's or a Nordstrom's and the other retailers we are lacking. The subsidy could simply come in the form of a 10/15-year TIF district which I would presume could generate as much as $20 million. Remember what the ULI panel said about downtown retail? We will have to subsidize it, and they didn't think that the local climate here would be very favorable toward that. Luckily the local political climate isn't needed for a simple TIF district, I think--unless of course someone opposes it and gets it put on a ballot, in which case it will probably pass anyway. The downside to this, and I'm not an economist, but I don't think it would be a very natural development influx..and I don't know that it would ever put in motion a natural retail development cycle either. Another downside is that it wouldn't be doable in the interim because unfortunately, big projects like this in downtown are held-up waiting to see what happens with Core to Shore--BUT maybe Devon and Project 180 completion would be "epoch-making" for such an occasion? We could hope.

3. My favorite alternative: A minor subsidy, just doing whatever Grant Humphreys needs in the form of minor assistance, to get his Crown Heights mixed-use project off the ground. This project WAS going to include some kind of organic grocer, plus a sizable collection of additional retail as well--in a true town center setting, in a great location as well (similar to the upscale environs of Midtown Tulsa, but on a smaller scale) and great access to I-235 and downtown. This might be the farthest south we are able to get retailers like Create & Barrel (which is supposedly coming to OKC) and Trader Joe's to come, because even though their urban stores are the coolest, they consistently go where the demographics. Some companies will just go where the quality space is available, others are more insistent on the rooftops being there and these are your stores that are almost certain to end up in Edmond or hopefully as far south as Nichols Hills, but Crown Heights would be a great option for most of the retailers we want to bring into OKC.

4. The fourth alternative, and in my opinion this is something that has to be done regardless of what kind of national anchor we try to bring into downtown, but this is that we need to try and convince some well-established locally-owned businesses to move downtown. I'm talking particularly of Full Circle Bookstore, which is one of my Top Ten favorite bookstores in the country. It's not Book People, nor is it the Elliott Bay Book Co in Seattle, or other more famous bookstores--BUT it is definitely the best bookstore in Oklahoma, and there are only about 15 cities (in my guestimation) that have a bookstore this cool and special. Their Oklahoma book section is also awesome. I think Full Circle regulars and people in OKC in general ought to start hounding them to move downtown. Look at 50 Penn Place..what a dump, and now that Balliet's is moving out and Talbot's is long gone, this seems to be the perfect opportunity to jump ship. They're going to move either way. Downtown OKC Inc. and Bricktown, Deep Deuce developers, MidTown developers--etc, ALL need to be targeting them. I think they'll be highly receptive to the idea..Jim Tolbert was initially involved early-on in Bricktown, so he's a downtown kind of guy. He's also heavily involved in the downtown arts scene, further proving the point. Why is his amazing bookstore still located in a dying shopping mall out in the burbs?

Another key locally-owned business that might want to consider a move downtown is Mr. Ooleys, especially if a top-notch retail space comes open that is better than the space they currently have in the front of Penn Square. I think that Ooley's has a special customer base that is dedicated enough to follow them downtown, considering how specialized his store is and how he really goes out of his way to cater to his customers. Where would be a good Ooley's location? What about on the Canal in Bricktown, in one of the Brewer's buildings that they're bringing tenants to. Store fronts could go as follows: Envy Clothing, Sammy's Pizza, smoothie shop, Mr. Ooley's, (with the Red Dirt Marketplace underneath on the canal-level). That's a lot of converging factors right there, and Bricktown retail MIGHT just begin to take off.

But the reality is that there are TWO impossibilities surrounding downtown retail and they are, in the end, equally impossible. The first is that Sak's is NOT going to just up and locate in downtown OKC because they will suddenly realize the error of their ways of not being in OKC, and specifically Downtown OKC. The second is that it is very difficult for a locally-owned business WITHOUT a reputation built up to be successful in a start-up market, although it's not to be completely ruled out.. if you can captivate a scene such as the Plaza District has, sometimes you can get a lot of synergy out of a start-up market completely comprised of start-up businesses, but I'm just saying it's difficult to do even then, and that's not going to be an option for Bricktown because that district is too conflicted trying to cater to two completely contradictory scenes: They're trying so hard to be "family friendly" (which has obviously done WONDERS for Bricktown retail), and then they also focus on the nightlife--probably where Bricktown has been most successful. So my point, after a lot of sidetracking, is that in order to make a fledgling retail market successful you need non-fledgling names, and those names can be national..or what I don't think people in OKC have realized, is that those names can be LOCAL too.

Seriously. Let's start a campaign to get, specifically, Full Circle, and Mr. Ooley's, to move downtown. Along with Balliet's which is already moving into Classen Curve, these stores are OKC's absolute best local businesses--and they set the standard for local bookstores, menswear, and upscale women's dept stores. These stores will be a hit no matter where they locate as long as it's a good space and a good location, and they don't require certain demographic or rooftop thresholds that national chains do because Tolbert and Ooley know that their OKC customers will go to Downtown to visit their store. Period.

A thousand questions

So many questions, so little time. In lieu of a full post (currently working on an exhaustive retail post), I think for this week I'll just post some questions that are burning in my mind. If anyone would venture some answers, feel free.

I am afraid that if it's questionable, in "this current economy" (I disagree with that..) and in the current malaise that is private development in downtown OKC, you have to assume the worst..that each of these possible projects are negligible. I want to be wrong. Or here's a much more optimistic possibility: Maybe everyone is waiting to see what's going to happen with MAPS 3 before they put any more investment into downtown? Too much up in the air right now. There is an amazing amount of change going on, but it's virtually all public sector and instead of invigorating the private sector, the private sector seems to have taken a breather.

So here goes, no particular order:

1 Is OKC still doing anything to attract more retail? Did the ULI panel give the city some ideas? Is the city willing to subsidize a "Core to Shore boulevard" retail development?

2 Has anyone besides myself realized the demolition spree that this city is on? Multiple buildings on 10th Street, the SandRidge proposal, Bricktown Steffen Creamery bldg, and more. Now it looks like the next may be a row of shops at Classen and NW 30th. Oh and the site Bradshaw cleared at Broadway/12th. The more I think, the more examples I come up with.

3 How has first-floor leasing been going? Legacy and Park Harvey were huge successes in that regard. What about the Maywood Lofts? Chuck Ainsworth's Candy Factory project? I'm sure there's some I'm forgetting. I know there is no first-floor retail yet in the Candy Factory "Lofts" or in Maywood Lofts' spaces..

4 I'm curious what Steve Mason's been up to. He's always up to something cool.

5 The Maywood Brownstones have changed hands. So does that free Ron Bradshaw up to do some more projects? Hopefully something more economically feasible. And what does this mean for Maywood Park? Will the brownstones be finished out as originally planned? (dozens more were originally planned)

6 When I was last in Bricktown I saw a ton of site work going on around the Steel Yards project. Is that going forward, or is something else entirely going on?

7 Did the ULI knock some sense into the city, or is Mayor Mick still intent on building the convention center adjacent to the Core to Shore park? It might make or break MAPS 3. Not really, but still--why be intent on making the worst out of the top-dollar ticket item?

8 What is the deal with Chesapeake? I realize we will never find out, but it's worth speculating. So much construction equipment between Classen and the tracks, on top of several blocks that I'm guessing they cleared. They've also been clearing a half dozen apartment buildings off of Grand Blvd between Western and 63rd. There was an apartment building on 63rd in front of Nichols Hills Plaza they also just razed. No announcement from Chesapeake as usual. What is going on? We already know Whole Foods is going in where they tore down the funeral home earlier this year.

9 Ron Bradshaw (I think it was him) bulldozed that site at like.. NW 12th and Broadway. What will come of that? Another site that was bulldozed just to sit for decades? We all thought we'd see development of that site by now, no surprise--no development. Maybe something is still planned, or is he no longer developing?

10 What is going on at Saint Anthony's Hospital? I'm hearing a lot about two possible new mid-rise buildings at the hospital, including a new emergency ward--and in addition to that, I'm hearing about a group of doctors interested in building a new doctor's office building (significant midrise as opposed to lowrise from what I hear).

11 What's the deal with some of these downtown developments that you hear nothing about? Like The Carnegie. The First National Building renovations? The CityPlace Lofts (in the upper floors)? Will Lower Bricktown ever be finished (is Randy Hogan going to be 'let off' or will OCURA ever take the land back)?

12 Our friend Nicholas Preftakes... 'nuff said.

13 Are some property owners actually trying to make sure that the downtown streetcar does not go in front of their property? Words can not describe how misdirected I think such a move would be. Streetcar = good. Usually the argument against it is "I'm too cheap to pay for it," and not.. "It better stay off of my lawn!"

14 Would a downtown grocer even be successful? Crescent Market closed. The deli is still open, thankfully. People really do a lot of talking about what downtown needs and yada yada--when someone comes in are they supporting them? It's a valid question I've heard raised by many. I've asked people what businesses they think are in need of support, nobody wants to specifically name a business that's doing badly, but maybe we really do need a downtown endangered list..if it would help.


Not to be all negative, unexpected answers that have come up..

1 Is Bricktown EVER going to have some decent retail? Apparently, yes--in June. The people behind the Red Dirt Emporium are opening a "public market" type space in June that will feature a collection of local vendors with different kinds of booths. It will also hopefully act as an incubator for new retail in Bricktown, where people who make shirts or food or whatever--can start out with a booth here and then get their own store as they expand. The market will be located on the canal level of the Jackson Building in upper Bricktown--the interior will be very avant garde, very Bricktown. Can't wait to see it.

2 Will SandRidge be opposed? Yes, big-time. An awesome group has formed with the mission to "Keep Downtown Urban." Preservation Oklahoma has filed a public appeal against SandRidge Energy's plans to raze north downtown leaving only SandRidge Tower standing. Today during lunch they held a "Building Hug" ceremony downtown, gathering about 40 participants, as well as spectators and news reporters. They gave out free "Keep Downtown Urban" t-shirts as well.

3 Can development happen during this economy? Yes. Look at Paseo, look at the Plaza District--not only is there significant redevelopment going on, but these are also by far some of the highest-risk (as far as lender's are concerned) development areas of the city. Low risk development: Bricktown, or Memorial Road. High risk: Plaza District (because there aren't active precedent indicators that a project will be successful). Look at the transformation the Plaza has undergone during a bad economy, and look at the local retail tenants that have miraculously popped up. Plaza has a truly awesome retail scene in my opinion. Maybe the low expectations lent themselves to a surprisingly successful district? Maybe the ridiculously high expectations are what's problematic in Bricktown.

Think about it, OKC.

Cityshot XXX

New business storefronts appearing along the Upper Canal (Envy going in at the corner, Sammy's Pizza being brought back to the space next door).

Beyond-depressing interview

This interview with Alison Oshel (the article doesn't say but I'm pretty sure she is the Chamber's new "retail specialist" whose job is to attract "center city retail") is pretty depressing. That's not to say that Steve Lackmeyer did a bad job, in fact I think he did a good job of exposing what a lackluster scenario the retail picture here is. And I think that in some part that falls on Oshel whose sole job is "center city retail." There is no such thing as "center city retail" and nothing has even begun to change on that front in the 2 or 3 years that Oshel has been in the position, begging the question what she does all day.

I don't mean to point the finger at one person and attack everything they've done in their job for a while, but I just think some questions need to be raised here, so I'm going to do the instigating on this matter, and I readily admit I could be wrong. Yeah I know there's a recession going on, but that isn't much of an excuse for having the nation's lowest unemployment rate and being the most "recession-proof major city" and having absolutely nothing going on with the retail front.

Let's examine what's actually happened with "center city retail": None of the large-scale mixed-use projects that could have happened have stuck. Bricktown Village was thwarted by the City, Grant Humphreys' Crown Heights project has fallen off the radar, his Waterfront project is stalled until he can make progress on the FlatIron, the FlatIron (which will need some retail and office tenants) has not made much progress, Gary Cotton's huge development on the canal faltered, MidTown Renaissance isn't moving forward, and I could just go on. We wanted a Whole Foods downtown and at one point in time we were confident it would come. What we HAVE seen are small projects. A couple opened up a gourmet market in Deep Deuce. Some restaurants moved into the Centennial. Some Bricktown restaurants went out of business and some took their place. Local billionaire Aubrey McClendon has a small 100,000 sf upscale development underway. McClendon may be able to attract Whole Foods to OKC himself, still. The complete shutdown of suburban development projects (Tuscana, Edmond projects, Oklahoma Premium Outlets, and more completely derailed) should have provided an opportunity for downtown to get some more retail development.

Now let's examine what we are hoping to get out of the future: a complete turnaround in downtown retail. We're looking for the kind of downtown that has more retail attractions than either Penn Square or Quail Springs Mall. C2S anticipates that a major retail development could line the new "boulevard" and neighborhood retail could fill the rest of C2S. Bricktown has added a few more "trophies" such as the School of Rock and the American Banjo Museum, so can it capitalize on that? Can Bricktown remain hot or will it begin to cool if nothing new comes in to keep it "fresh" in the minds of locals? Does anyone even realize how much empty retail space is just sitting all around Bricktown...it's a LOT. There's space in the Centennial, there's space where Uncommon Grounds was, there's space in the Santa Fe Train Depot, there's a TON of space along the Canal, and more. We need to fill that before we can attract the kind of star-studded retail we're looking to come downtown, and yeah, it is a chicken-and-egg scenario because we all know that downtown retail needs an anchor, and nobody in their right mind had better consider Bass Pro a "downtown retail anchor."

Now to bring it back to Oshel, which I hate to do to someone I don't even know. Here we have someone who is an upper-level Chamber of Commerce official whose sole job is "center city retail." Add to the fact that pretty much every district has a director. Bricktown has Jim Cowan who has been instrumental in keeping the momentum going there, and overall Downtown OKC has Jane Jenkins who has a proven track record in boosting downtown retail. Can you say too many cooks in the kitchen? These coordinators should all be able to help attract big-time national retailers as well as help locals set up business downtown, which we've been really lacking on.

The successes we have had have been ALL due to external factors. UCO has done a lot for downtown, with attracting the School of Rock and their boathouse. The Bricktown Association did good getting the Banjo Museum here. Government projects have made the OHC look like a potentially hot development area. Devon Tower guarantees a boom for the west side of downtown so thank God for Devon right now. MAPS 3 is also going to ensure a lot of possibility if it passes. Hopefully when the Thunder are back in play downtown will be a much better retail area.

I'm just curious what Oshel HAS been able to bring to the table. From here it looks like nothing. A coordinator in her position could have been instrumental in keeping politics from shunning Bricktown Village, or could have helped Humphreys with FlatIron in order to keep the rest of his projects on track, and so on. The Centennial sold out its residential units and had a long waitlist for units, then the same broker who handled that moved on to work with Gary Cotton's canal mid-rise, and couldn't get any of those names that were waitlisted to buy into the Cotton Exchange, which would have been a very cool project. That's another key example of poor coordination and something that should have been successful.

And now, turning to the interview, I'm not even sure they have the right focus.

"We’ve lost some national retailers — Linens ’N Things, Circuit City, Sportsman’s Warehouse — and we do have some big box space that wasn’t available or on the market about a year ago."

Wait, are we even talking about a "Big League City" and its aspirations any more? We're talking about Linens 'N things and Circuit City here, none of which were even in the "center city" so who cares, from a perspective of downtown retail. Why is that even something we're talking about.. I don't get it.