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Mixed-Use Development At 1111 Main St.


Urbannizer

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  • 1 year later...

Pg 13.

 

http://www.downtowntirz.com/downtownhouston/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/FS-2016-Main-Street-Market-Square-final-report-UPDATED.pdf

 

The Authority issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the development of 1111 Main and 1010 Lamar as part of the Shopping District series of projects beginning in fiscal year 2015. The project is still in early development and if it is successful and a mixed‐use project is developed on the site, the Authority anticipates that public incentives may be needed to achieve a significant soft goods retail component in the project in fulfillment of the directives from the Mayor’s Retail Task Force.  

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4 minutes ago, Urbannizer said:

 

On ‎6‎/‎17‎/‎2015 at 0:13 PM, H-Town Man said:

And it's gonna take money

A whole lot of public money

It's gonna take plenty of money

To do it right...

 

Paraphrasing George Harrison.

 

 

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Translation: We, the city of Houston, want badly to see fancy retail in the 1100 block of Main, but we don't want it badly enough to actually shop there to the extent that the economics will work. So we will pay tax money to any retailer who will set up there, to make up for the lack of money we will pay shopping at the store.

 

If it's tax reductions to jump start retail as happened with the DLI, then I can be for it. That would be consistent, and the DLI did its job. Still a little icky though.

 

 

Edited by H-Town Man
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On 1/13/2017 at 6:47 PM, HoustonIsHome said:

Downtown foot traffic has picked up, while the homeless population in that spot has gone down. 

There is still no big draw to Main Street Square though.

Forever 21 is ok, but not enough.

The Park Shops and Greenstreet are too inward facing.

 

As far as department stores go are they still popular?  I'm not sure what it's going to take to Jumpstart retail but I think it has to be visual.  People need to be able to see in. 

 

I think low end retail would work wonders here for now. 

Lower end than even Macy's. 

With the Galleria, ROD, Highland Village, River Oaks and Rice Village all in close proximity I don't see much high end coming to downtown soon. 

 

Don't laugh but I would put in Ross, Marshalls, Target,  a general goods store, a Houston souvenir shop, A sports merchandise shop,  a smoke shop, Petsmart, expand that CVS, bring in an urban version of Specs, throw in some restaurants,  bars and about a dozen lower end retailers such as Rainbow,  Old Navy, Bath and Body works, Lids, Sephora. That will keep the nearby residents interested.  Once the crowds become regular we can step up the game. I do think we may need something like a Williams Sonoma soon.  Something with  home goods

 

 

Low end stores like Ross, Marshalls, etc. have worked great in other cities. Nashville, Chicago I know that Houston isn't a Chicago but it'll be a start. We would just need the foot traffic.

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I may be ignorant on the matter, but I don't see low end stores working for downtown. Unless you're catering to the homeless population, like Main Street Market, I don't see the clientele for low end retail being in downtown. All those new apartment buildings have rents starting at like $1500 for a studio. I'm not saying everything needs to be upscale luxury, but I just have a hard time seeing very much low end retail working in downtown. Especially given the rents/profit margins needed to make money.

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A target or a tjmax would be teaming with office workers everyday.  

 

"Low end" retail does not mean that "upscale and wealthy" shoppers don't go there.  Said another way, Engineers earning $125k don't all shop at Nordstrom and crate and barrel exclusively.  

 

 

Edited by UtterlyUrban
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If you look at the explosion of retail for the "upscale and wealthy" lately (River Oaks District, Galleria expansion, Kirby Collection, Rice Village redevelopment etc etc) it is hard to see how much demand there could be for yet another retail destination for the upscale and wealthy.  Or maybe they feel they don't have enough choices, and I'm just blind to it. 

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What Downtown needs is something like a Target, where the residents can get their basic stuff that isn't sold in grocery stores.  Right now in downtown, there's no place that your $125k engineer is going to be able to get duck tape, sand paper, and a new drill bit to fix the hobby project that has gone severely wrong at 8 pm.

 

A downtown Target would have people in there day and night

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I agree, a CityTarget would do very well. I would much rather it be in the ground floor(s) of an office/residential tower downtown than be located in midtown.

Maybe I'm not rich enough, but I don't consider target to be a "low end retailer". My previous comment was in response to the suggestions of Ross/Marshalls types of discount stores in downtown.

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I think a Ross or a Marshalls would be able to get plenty of bussiness, but I don't know if they'd make enough revenue per square foot to pay for downtown rent.  It would be nice to have a legit small shopping area with something like that, plus a Target and a whole bunch of little stores or something

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  • 3 months later...

So in that case, it looks like they are placing the parking garage on Main with the retail on the bottom. Sort of a dueling parking garage with Hilcorp's across the street, and continuing the rich tradition of parking garages on Main - 9 in 6 blocks between Texas and Dallas if this goes through.

 

You would think that creative office space users would want to overlook Main Street Square, rather than overlook Fannin Street and have their cars overlook Main Street Square. Right?

 

Or maybe they are preserving the Sakowitz building with garage inside, which would be slightly better, but I doubt the building can take that much more reconfiguration.

 

 

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