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Retail On Main Street


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Free space

While a huge resurgence has been taking place on Main Street, some real estate brokers say it's a lot easier to pull teeth than it is to get a retailer to lease there.

Beyond restaurants, bars and lofts, there are few shops, aside from a some convenience stores and a pharmacy.

Kimberly-Clark, the owner of 1212 Main, wants to change that.

The Main Street landlord is willing to give away empty storefronts to retail business owners considering locating downtown.

Design Within Reach is the first to jump on the offer.

The high-priced furniture design studio is showing off its wares in an empty window in the building at the corner of Main and Dallas.

Real estate brokers hope it generates interest and more activity along Main Street.

Jeff Kaplan, a broker with Wulfe & Co. who represents the building owner, said the free windows are being offered to "dream retailers who are not quite ready to do deals on Main Street."

"We hope that these storefronts will stir imaginations and begin to create the perception that soft good retail can work downtown," he said.

The owners of the old Sakowitz building on Main are also trying to lure retailers to vacant street-level space.

The company is dividing the empty space into spots prime for retailers.

Located at 1111 Main, the historic building sits at the center of what was once downtown's retail hub. Foley's is just across the street.

Designed by Houston architect Alfred Charles Finn, the property is now a parking garage.

The concept of free space is not exactly new.

General Growth Properties, the retail giant that owns many of Houston's regional shopping malls, recently started offering prospective tenants in some of its other markets financial incentives to lease space in some of the company's underperforming centers.

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This seems like a win-win situation - retailers can exhibit their wares, and building owners can showcase the possibilities.

What is meant by Mr. Kaplan's reference to 'soft good retail'? I'm pretty sure it's not because the furniture is upholstered...

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soft good retail is clothing and housewares and the sort. its may be easier to define what it is not - bars, clubs, restuarants.

and w/r/t retail in other parts of downtown, its tough to ask for all things for all parts of downtown. it needs to have niches of activity that are separate but connected. ie. the soft good retail should be near each other to create the synergistic effect that retailes strive for. no one wants to be out on their own. The bars and restaurants have done a good job defining their area in the 3-400 block of downtown.

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another neat idea about this concept is that it will "placehold" vacant retail space and to the pedestrian, it will look like activity. Studies show that when people are walking down a corridor and are about to pass 25ft or more of vacant frontage, they tend to turn around and go back the other direction (you can see this effect happen just past the Icon hotel heading north on main). If we can energize these storefronts, activity will continue.

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It is a nice concept, but doesn't it effectively amount to putting advertising posters in the windows? Still, better than vacant. And Design Within Reach has some REALLY nice stuff. I think it would be a big step to have a sustainable retail base along Main before worrying too much about other areas of downtown.

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soft good retail is clothing and housewares and the sort. its may be easier to define what it is not - bars, clubs, restuarants.

and w/r/t retail in other parts of downtown, its tough to ask for all things for all parts of downtown. it needs to have niches of activity that are separate but connected. ie. the soft good retail should be near each other to create the synergistic effect that retailes strive for.  no one wants to be out on their own. The bars and restaurants have done a good job defining their area in the 3-400 block of downtown.

Thanks for clarifying soft good retail.

I agree about the importance of continuity of businesses - think of how many cities have "restaurant rows". Perhaps promoting retail on some of the neglected east-west streets between Main St. and The Park at Houston Center (or whatever it's called now) would help to tie the two areas together, and create the sort of shopping mecca which would attract more people.

Currently, it seems like the enclosed mall and Main St. are unrelated, and at odds with one another.

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Is there any need for that mall to be related to Main Street though? The Park Shops or whatever they are now are probably destined to retain their mall-ness (segregated from the street, internally oriented). Main Street at least has some street-oriented retail potential. I can see Main developing shopping while the mall just stays like it is.

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Take a walk near Main and Walker to smell just how far Main Street has to go.

Unfortunately, it speaks to the lack of responsible tenants on that block who would not allow people to loiter and who would be around to clean up during off-business hours. That's a key reason why I can't wait for renovation of the West Bldg to commence in some form so that more responsible tenants are in place.

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  • 8 months later...

Interesting. I was wondering when we would start to see the American Apparell stores opening that have been talked about all year. I hope the Houston Pavilions project will actually happen to help aide the success of these businesses.

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I am impressed that a magazine not known for cerebral writing would actually get it right. While there are constant cries for Disneyesque attractions downtown, what it needs most is attractions for locals. That is, the locals that live in or near downtown and the locals who visit downtown. Tourists will enjoy visiting amongst the locals.

No one goes to Paris to visit EuroDisney. They go to see the Parisians and the way they live. They go to experience the things that Parisians do. Same for New York, Chicago and San Francisco. You can't build it overnight. It is a steady growth, supported by people who move into the apartments or condos and frequent the shops.

Great cities don't build tourists attractions. Great cities BECOME tourist attractions.

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Great cities don't build tourists attractions.  Great cities BECOME tourist attractions.

And how long have we been BECOMING a tourist attraction? All of this BECOMING has gotten us as the least tourist friendly large city in Texas. Why did Houston decide to BECOME after everyone else?

Those new side walks on Main in Midtown are how old? And HOW WIDE are they for pedestrians? Excuse me but, " is Travis and the other streets that run parallel to it going through the Midtown neighborhood, a freeway or are they neighborhood streets that are pedestrian friendly since it's a "neighborhood? And haven't they been newly reconstructed? Were the planners thinking of the residences of the area as well as those that would be rushing to get out of the city?" Why didn't the midtown residences speak loudly about the CVS design near the urban post development across the street? Don't they want Midtown to be more urban(sarcasm)? Could the Calais have had at least one side of retail at the bottom?How many more affordable residences are planned for Downtown right now, and when will it be revealed to the public? Is that spanking new 20ft Vietnamese memorial in the middle of the parking lot of a strip mall evidence that we are moving in the right direction? Are we making some crucial mistakes in this journey to BECOME a tourist attraction? With every 1 step forward, are we making 2 backward?

RedScare, I don't think you get the point that some including myself are trying to make. No one is saying they want a triple loop rollercoaster running down Main Street. But if we are to become a true world class city, we MUST look to cities like San Francisco, Chicago, New York, etc., that are successful at it, to see what the WORLD'S standard for "World Class" is, and at the VERY least consider it. If you desire to become world class and one of the standards to becoming that is having a Bookstore in your city core with lots of glass in the front with bright lights, don't fight it because of an attitude of, "this is Houston and not Chicago". Keep up with the times and see if it can be successful here as well. And definitely DON'T wait until 15 years after everyone else has it, then open one in the name of, "oh Houston was just waiting until everyone else had one so we could do it the RIGHT way" B.S.

I know there are things coming down the line and some that I may not even know about, but there have been in the past and even recent opportunities to lay the groundwork for Houston going to that next level, and we will turn and do something short-sighted and squander it. For someone who has a passion for our city, this scares me.

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Great cities?

Man- How many of you have heard of the cities of Las Vegas and Houston?

World Citizens- Most of us know Las Vegas and some of Houston......isn't that near Dallas?

Man- How many of you would live in Vegas and how many would choose Houston?

World Citizens- Most of us would choose Vegas, if no other reason than most of us know nothing about Houston.

Me- Hey Houstonians, although this isn't a real conversation, if we are honest with ourselves, we know that most would indeed choose Vegas. The million dollar question is, WHY would they choose Vegas?

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I personally dont think I know anyone that would voluntarily move to Vegas. I think it was a poor choice to make the point.

Anyway, I am all for improving Houston's image abroad but I'm still not in it for trying to bring in the crowds. I'd just like to talk to my relatives in New York and California and not have to defend my home city everytime. Trying to get family out here for my wedding was murder. (Didnt help that it was in May.)

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A thread was started on the topic of World Cities and what factors into a determination of a world city.

http://www.houstonarchitecture.info/haif/i...?showtopic=3004

I encourage you to look at the criteria that these scholars felt needed to be met to be considered a global city. I also urge you to look at the list. Houston is already considered a world city. Las Vegas and Orlando are nowhere to be found. They may be very entertaining with their man-made tourist attractions, but, other than tourism, they have nothing. Well, Orlando does have Steve Francis.

I have read your posts, and I DO see your point. What you fail to understand is that I disagree with you completely, both on what makes a city great, and how much and how quickly Houston has regenerated its downtown.

I suspect that you are not old enough to remember 70s and 80s downtown. I used to run to my car from school to make sure I didn't get mugged. Now, I walk those very same streets at 3 in the morning without fear. My friend, THAT is a major turnaround.

BTW - Oil hit $67 dollars a barrel today. The world knows who Houston is.

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And how long have we been BECOMING a tourist attraction? All of this BECOMING has gotten us as the least tourist friendly large city in Texas. Why did Houston decide to BECOME after everyone else?

Those new side walks on Main in Midtown are how old? And HOW WIDE are they for pedestrians? Excuse me but, " is Travis and the other streets that run parallel to it going through the Midtown neighborhood, a freeway or are they neighborhood streets that are pedestrian friendly since it's a "neighborhood? And haven't they been newly reconstructed? Were the planners thinking of the residences of the area as well as those that would be rushing to get out of the city?" Why didn't the midtown residences speak loudly about the CVS design near the urban post development across the street? Don't they want Midtown to be more urban(sarcasm)? Could the Calais have had at least one side of retail at the bottom?How many more affordable residences are planned for Downtown right now, and when will it be revealed to the public? Is that spanking new 20ft Vietnamese memorial in the middle of the parking lot of a strip mall evidence that we are moving in the right direction? Are we making some crucial mistakes in this journey to BECOME a tourist attraction? With every 1 step forward, are we making 2 backward?

RedScare, I don't think you get the point that some including myself are trying to make. No one is saying they want a triple loop rollercoaster running down Main Street. But if we are to become a true world class city, we MUST look to cities like San Francisco, Chicago, New York, etc., that are successful at it, to see what the WORLD'S standard for "World Class" is, and at the VERY least consider it. If you desire to become world class and one of the standards to becoming that is having a Bookstore in your city core with lots of glass in the front with bright lights, don't fight it because of an attitude of, "this is Houston and not Chicago". Keep up with the times and see if it can be successful here as well. And definitely DON'T wait until 15 years after everyone else has it, then open one in the name of, "oh Houston was just waiting until everyone else had one so we could do it the RIGHT way" B.S.

I know there are things coming down the line and some that I may not even know about, but there have been in the past and even recent opportunities to lay the groundwork for Houston going to that next level, and we will turn and do something short-sighted and squander it. For someone who has a passion for our city, this scares me.

very well put velvetj. it's people who have shortsighted views for our city who serve as reason as to why Houston's progress is so slow compared to that of other cities.

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And how long have we been BECOMING a tourist attraction? All of this BECOMING has gotten us as the least tourist friendly large city in Texas. Why did Houston decide to BECOME after everyone else?

Those new side walks on Main in Midtown are how old? And HOW WIDE are they for pedestrians? Excuse me but, " is Travis and the other streets that run parallel to it going through the Midtown neighborhood, a freeway or are they neighborhood streets that are pedestrian friendly since it's a "neighborhood? And haven't they been newly reconstructed? Were the planners thinking of the residences of the area as well as those that would be rushing to get out of the city?" Why didn't the midtown residences speak loudly about the CVS design near the urban post development across the street? Don't they want Midtown to be more urban(sarcasm)? Could the Calais have had at least one side of retail at the bottom?How many more affordable residences are planned for Downtown right now, and when will it be revealed to the public? Is that spanking new 20ft Vietnamese memorial in the middle of the parking lot of a strip mall evidence that we are moving in the right direction? Are we making some crucial mistakes in this journey to BECOME a tourist attraction? With every 1 step forward, are we making 2 backward?

RedScare, I don't think you get the point that some including myself are trying to make. No one is saying they want a triple loop rollercoaster running down Main Street. But if we are to become a true world class city, we MUST look to cities like San Francisco, Chicago, New York, etc., that are successful at it, to see what the WORLD'S standard for "World Class" is, and at the VERY least consider it. If you desire to become world class and one of the standards to becoming that is having a Bookstore in your city core with lots of glass in the front with bright lights, don't fight it because of an attitude of, "this is Houston and not Chicago". Keep up with the times and see if it can be successful here as well. And definitely DON'T wait until 15 years after everyone else has it, then open one in the name of, "oh Houston was just waiting until everyone else had one so we could do it the RIGHT way" B.S.

I know there are things coming down the line and some that I may not even know about, but there have been in the past and even recent opportunities to lay the groundwork for Houston going to that next level, and we will turn and do something short-sighted and squander it. For someone who has a passion for our city, this scares me.

these are the truest of words!

grey

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