the designs of the Nexus is wondereful, a welcoming addition to the DTR area.
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Youâre a testament to dedication.
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I could definitely see Sax moving to that location. Which would be interesting, because it would fill the other stores with high end retail.
A shopping district? Art of Style and Deco are around the corner. Urban Outfitters isnât that far.
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If DT Raleigh had a regional class shopping district, with some higher end stores, if would really do wonders for the DT rep.
For a DT to truely succeed you need to bring in everybody, even the rich shoppers. Our malls just donât do it, they do not have that atmosphere that draws people in. Being able to go to Sax, and then walk to a world class whiskey bar, and then go to LuluLemon, Urban Outfitter, Deco, Sur La Table, etc would draw a ton of people in.
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Sounds like a bunch of chain bullsh*t that would make Raleigh more like any other city. We need lower rents and smaller storefronts for local businesses to have a chance. A couple chains, sure, but that shouldnât be all we get for a shopping district. I like Ashevilleâs retail options- like 1 chain to every 10 local places.
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Well, Portland has a shopping district, SF has a shopping district, Chicago has a shopping district. If you guys want 40 story towers, corporate HQs, Condo and apartment towers, you are not going to get that in mass with local stores. There is only so much that can support before you go to the next level as a city.
I look at Las Olas in DT Fort Lauderdale as a good example, they have a great mixture of local and Chains, including a Cheesecake factory.
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Just adding. No one is going to make constant trips downtown for some local stores. Deco isnât getting shoppers to come weekly, Stitch isnât either.
A big box retail, and some big chain retail will drive a huge amount of business into the local area. The foot traffic would increase 10x. That would drive local store sales through the roof.
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I feel like I have been saying this same thing over and over. Big chains suck, but they do draw shoppers in. Getting shoppers in the area will also support the local retail as well.
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Well Stitch wonât be getting anything soon as theyâre headed to Wilmington. But youâre right local can only carry things so far. Itâs also nice for those who live downtown to have things that are cheaper like chains can often offer because of their ability to scale
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I would say its the location but the storefronts on the opposite side of Alexander Square (Fayetteville St.) have been consistently occupied since it opened.
I live and work downtown. More and more people are doing that. The only time I need to use a car is to shop (grocery, clothes, etc) which pushes me more and more to Amazon (shame on me, I know, I really try to support local). The more residential we get downtown (be it apartments, condos, town homes) the more applicable good retail shops are to support those residents. As much as I really do like local shops, Iâm realizing regional/national brands play a part in attracting business as well and support that to an extent. Earlier a 1:10 ratio of name brand to local was mentioned for Asheville. I like that concept though I think a higher ratio of name brand will likely be needed.
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Oh, youâre not wrong. I just hope we donât end up like North Hills. They have Quail Ridge books (great) aaaaand⌠chain BS.
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I think this thread is most appropriate for this info that maybe not everybody knows. The Downtown Raleigh Alliance has an effort (I believe yet to be started) to analyze DTR businesses and compare to data that suggests a good balance of different types of retail given our size and near-term projected growth with the expectation that weâd have a good list of retail we need. Iâm sure I botched this to an extent so if anybody else has more info on the program please share.
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Exciting that we seem to be within reach of the tipping point for DTR retail and it will be fascinating to see how it shakes out. Iâd say if things could follow a 2 or even 3 : 10 chain to local model for the new offerings over the next 5 year period then some true diversification will begin to take shape and that tide will lift all boats, likely leading to the creation of some real districts. North Hills seems too removed to really influence the outcome DTR ( *hopefully the development stakeholders get the decidedly different characteristics in the urban context of DTR - deeep breath) but Cameron Village has better relational proximity as well as its own thing going on local to âchainâ and it seems some of what is there will influence what happens in DTR.
Itâs my hope that the retail offering that lands in the buildings to come - specifically the 2 Kane developments (northside and southside) and this Nexus site is the âcream of the cropâ as far as chains go along with some well programmed localism, which should create a springboard for the waves of additions to follow.
Letâs hope the leasing agents get a sense of the gravity around their execution on these spacesâŚ
Finger crossed.
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I think itâs imperative for us to understand who shops downtown and why.
For example, itâs easy to understand how people, who live in Glenwood South, will shop at the Publix when it opens. However, mapping how others leverage that store requires more thought. There will be those who work in the area who will decide to shop after work to avoid traffic. There will be those who are visiting, and staying in hotels that will go there too. The same would be true other types of shopping opportunities.
With destination shopping, there is yet another reason for people to come a specific location, especially downtown.
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Would be nice to have some of these destination shopping locations within a fairly easy walking distance from one another, with many smaller, unique local retailers in between. Foot traffic from the Apple Store to Ikea to Belkâs would be great for all those small businesses on the way from one stop to the next.
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Of those three, Iâd suspect that an Apple store would be the most likely to land in DT Raleigh. In a county of nearly 1.1 million people, Wake has only 1 Apple Store. While it may be too close to Crabtree for Appleâs comfort, that may be able to be overcome if the DT housing game continues to densify. FWIW, Apple doesnât have a store in Charlotteâs core, so thereâs that. However, NC State provides a potential DT Raleigh store with the largest built-in college customer base in the state that can reach a DT store by bike share or scooter.
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Hereâs an overlay of Crabtree over downtown that I saw on twitter thanks to Ryan M Cooper (maptastik) and our very own @RaleighBikeLady
Just look at how much room it takes up and that doesnât even factor in all the other infrastructure that is dedicated to support it.
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Danggggg!! Thanks for link @JosABanks for the link! Adding the road network around the mall would add significantly to the area Crabtree uses. Crazy.
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