That’s a recipe for stopping new-build apartment buildings.
This developer has shown that they’re not interested in managing retail, as it doesn’t fit into their business plan. Even if they’d built retail, there’s no guarantee that they would have leased it out, or managed it well. I’d much rather have retail property owners who want to be in that business, and do that business well, than have a bunch of empty because-I-had-to storefronts.
Things will work themselves out. If there’s demand for retail, someone will add retail nearby. (If you’re so sure it’ll make money, you’re welcome to develop it, too!) In the meantime, the residents can walk one block down Hillsborough, or three blocks to the Village District, just like the many people who stayed at the hotel on that site long before. And those who prefer to live right above retail can self-select into Stanhope.