Originally Posted by
krapug1
It is very easy to be cynical about any downtown retail project, but lets see what does get announced in January.
As for setting expectations, a Target would do very well downtown, even more than the City Target format. Although there has been a lot of press about their truncated City Target stores, they do have urban versions of their full line stores in spots like downtown Brooklyn.
As for an Apple store, IF that was to happen expect something like the store they opened along Walnut Street in Philly, not the large flagship the stores that they have in Boston, or New York.
As for Nordstrom, get real, the only way to lure a company like Nordstrom would be to give them tax abatements, and/or operating subsidies.
Officials in Indy were kicking themselves for not requiring a minimum commitment from Nordstrom when it opened downtown, and then left, last year.
Ask Pittsburgh abut how well it went when they "gave the ranch away", to land Lord and Taylor, and the new Lazarus building. JC Penney opened a store in Center City Philly in 1984, and bolted once their 10 year commitment was up.
Downtown retail needs to prove itself and with stores that want to be here, not bribed to be here.
Ken