Dan Gilberts Retail Renaissance to include 70-90 retailers, including Target & Apple

[stasu1213]

I was in the car talking to someone the other day, he works downtown. He told me that it was no secret [[at least to him) that Dan Gilbert's retail plan for Detroit had already been released or leaked. He told me that it would include 70-90 permanent or long-term retailers, and that Target was one of them. he was going to name one more, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Aside from that, he also told me that Apple was planning to construct a flagship store [[in a glass square) in downtown, and that they would make the announcement in January 2013. I don't think this is made up, what do you guys think?

Is this your speculation? It is just a rumour until Dan Gilbert announces it himself. I would love to see a line of shops along the Woodward Corridor. Move those bus stops off Woodward south of Grand Circus Park and relocate them to Grand Circus Park or side street such as Randolph south of Monroe

[Gistok]

The new City Target in the old Carson Pirie Scott store at 1 So State St. Chicago ...everything you need to live downtown or in a city center plus food...rememember they run Super Targets in that part of the world, so fresh goods comes as a natural. Pret a Manger on the main floor. Now if they could get Walgreens to do what they just did in Chicago...this is a wow
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/1...hp_ref=chicago

It could like work for the People State Bank Building as well, although I would have like something a little less mundane [[such as a fancy restaurant) use for that... but beggars can't be choosers...

[brizee]

Some stuff I'd like to see with absolutely no consideration of how it would do.

1. Dick's Last Stand - I think this type of restaurant would go over well with the nonfamily crowd downtown seems to be attracting.

2. Gamestop. Young adults love the shit out of videogames.

3. A Supra store.

4. A leather/bomber jacker coat store.

5. A Timberland retailer.

[DetroitPlanner]

Some stuff I'd like to see with absolutely no consideration of how it would do.

1. Dick's Last Stand - I think this type of restaurant would go over well with the nonfamily crowd downtown seems to be attracting.

2. Gamestop. Young adults love the shit out of videogames.

3. A Supra store.

4. A leather/bomber jacker coat store.

5. A Timberland retailer.

1. Isn't that Dick's Last Resort?

3. Huh? Whats that? You want them selling Toyotas and Toyota tuner parts downtown?

4. And put the Broadway as well as leather unlimited out of business?

5. A Shoe store would be welcomed. I can't afford City Slicker gators on my public servant salary!

[brizee]

1. Isn't that Dick's Last Resort?

3. Huh? Whats that? You want them selling Toyotas and Toyota tuner parts downtown?

I'm not sure if that's you being funny. In any case:

http://www.suprafootwear.com/

[detroitbob]

The bank building would probably work...btw here is a killer historic restoration/adaptation by Walgreens in Chicago in Wicker Park, just north of downtown on the Blue Line El [[station is 1/2 block west)...just completed and opened...also 24 hours.
Upscale Walgreens Chicago: Swanky New Designer Drugstore Could Be Chain's
Fanciest Yet...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/1...#slide=1851316

[DetroitPlanner]

I'm not sure if that's you being funny. In any case:

http://www.suprafootwear.com/

I was trying to be funny because I never heard of it. Wow what ugly shoes. Maybe the kids like em but I can't see your average office worker or apartment dweller digging them. Not too many kids go downtown to shop these days, not sure if that is because there are no stores that cater to them or if they just don't exist in significant numbers in the market area. My guess is that it is the latter, and the kids would rather go to the mall.

[Hermod]

2. Gamestop. Young adults love the shit out of videogames.

So do those seeking the "five finger discount".

[iheartthed]

I was trying to be funny because I never heard of it. Wow what ugly shoes. Maybe the kids like em but I can't see your average office worker or apartment dweller digging them. Not too many kids go downtown to shop these days, not sure if that is because there are no stores that cater to them or if they just don't exist in significant numbers in the market area. My guess is that it is the latter, and the kids would rather go to the mall.

I guess the kids are the office workers now.

I'm almost 30 and that's what professionals in my age demographic buy for casual wear.

But I think a SUPRA store might be a little ambitious for Detroit right now. Metro Detroit doesn't really have any posh high profile shopping districts, which is were corporate owned stores for niche brands like that tend to locate. According to the SUPRA site, they only have corporate stores in SoHo, NYC and Paris. There's no SoHo type of shopping district in the Midwest period -- Chicago included -- let alone Detroit.

[antongast]

but beggars can't be choosers...

Sure they can. It isn't always in their best interests, but then again sometimes it is. If you're lost in the desert and someone hands you a glass of rat poison, you're not obligated to drink it just because you really need help. Beggars should rationally evaluate their options and choose the best one available, same as everyone else.

[rutlev]

Sounds like it'll be 313 in 2013- yes!

[Hermod]

Sure they can. It isn't always in their best interests, but then again sometimes it is. If you're lost in the desert and someone hands you a glass of rat poison, you're not obligated to drink it just because you really need help. Beggars should rationally evaluate their options and choose the best one available, same as everyone else.

No, but often one must choose between a variety of unacceptable choices and select the "cream of the crap".

[p69rrh51]

I will believe when I see the supposed stores open! If they do open I give them all five years ish before they all close. Detroit's ineffective police force along with the massive shrinkage problem that always plagues retailers in the city will not be tolerated very long!

[313WX]

I will believe when I see the supposed stores open! If they do open I give them all five years ish before they all close. Detroit's ineffective police force along with the massive shrinkage problem that always plagues retailers in the city will not be tolerated very long!

Then again, maybe Dan Gilbert will charge them next to nothing in rent for these establishments [[which is probably what happened with the Somerset thing and Moosejaw).

[p69rrh51]

Then again, maybe Dan Gilbert will charge them next to nothing in rent for these establishments [[which is probably what happened with the Somerset thing and Moosejaw).

True but he is not in the money losing business.

[DTFellow]

I will believe when I see the supposed stores open! If they do open I give them all five years ish before they all close. Detroit's ineffective police force along with the massive shrinkage problem that always plagues retailers in the city will not be tolerated very long!

While I understand your skepticism, I’m not entirely sure that shrinkage is / will be as big a problem downtown / Midtown as it may be elsewhere in the city.

For one, most of these shops will probably be patrolled pretty consistently w/ security personnel, the same guys you see in Campus Martius, Renaissance Center, First National Building, etc. Mr. Gilbert has been consistently providing security services like these, and I don’t doubt he will again in any new venture.

Secondly, its highly likely that any retail establishment will have some kind of insurance to cover these losses, should they occur—especially the larger “chain” stores that it sounds like Mr. Gilbert is looking to attract.

Finally, these kinds of ventures, if put together in a larger context provide excellent marketing for both downtown business “look at all there is to do right by your office!”, potential new residential complexes, AND the businesses that actually go in [["We aren't greedy corporate overlords, look at us putting up a new store in Detroit, of all places!")

These last two factors don't specifically address the shrinkage problem, but they do mitigate the harmful effects on the bottom line. . .

All interested parties are going to want to make sure that this succeeds, even if only for marketing reasons.

[warsaw7]

I will believe when I see the supposed stores open! If they do open I give them all five years ish before they all close. Detroit's ineffective police force along with the massive shrinkage problem that always plagues retailers in the city will not be tolerated very long!

Finally a realist! I don't mean to crash the party, but isn't there this teeny tiny rumor floating around that Detroit may enter bankruptcy? Not to mention another year of high murders? Why would any major corporations want to invest in a city that cannot even function without the help of the state?

I think that Mr. Gilbert has great intentions and I would truly love to see these "dreams" become a "reality." But I just don't see it happening until the city comes together and starts working together to eliminate the crime, the corruption and the lack of leadership that has plagued this city for years. Godspeed Detroit.

[Zads07]

I will believe when I see the supposed stores open! If they do open I give them all five years ish before they all close. Detroit's ineffective police force along with the massive shrinkage problem that always plagues retailers in the city will not be tolerated very long!

Use some common sense. Gilbert is a smart man. He would not do this unless he had a plan. It's not like he's going to have these open and say okay, you're on your own. He has to have a plan if this is going to happen, and a backup plan, many plans if things go certain ways. Have faith, look at the positives, don't look at the negatives. I for one am looking forward to this and if it is true, Detroit is going to be a huge story in 2013.

[Gistok]

Use some common sense. Gilbert is a smart man. He would not do this unless he had a plan. It's not like he's going to have these open and say okay, you're on your own. He has to have a plan if this is going to happen, and a backup plan, many plans if things go certain ways. Have faith, look at the positives, don't look at the negatives. I for one am looking forward to this and if it is true, Detroit is going to be a huge story in 2013.

Common Sense??

Did GM use common sense when they built Winter Garden on the waterfront side of the RenCen?? They had Gerald Hines as their developer... who manages properties all around the country.

Even the best of intentions don't always work out here in Detroit... and Winter Garden is an example of that...

[RO_Resident]

So do those seeking the "five finger discount".

What's a kid going to do with an empty box?

[p69rrh51]

Use some common sense. Gilbert is a smart man. He would not do this unless he had a plan. It's not like he's going to have these open and say okay, you're on your own. He has to have a plan if this is going to happen, and a backup plan, many plans if things go certain ways. Have faith, look at the positives, don't look at the negatives. I for one am looking forward to this and if it is true, Detroit is going to be a huge story in 2013.

For most this is the first retail "rebirth" in Detroit for me this is the umteenth! I have heard these same statements so many times I totally disregard them. For DTFellow shrinkage is employee theft which the City of the Detroit is INFAMOUS for! One of the reasons Kroger's will not open a store and Whole Foods is soon to learn about. All that security in front of the stores will not help the massive amounts of loss going out the back. Like I said 5 years and they will be gone if they come at all!

[Honky Tonk]

"Detroit is going to be a huge story in 2013"

In case you heven't heard, Detroit is already a huge story. By the end of the month the story should get bigger. If Dan doesn't figure out a way to start taking care of the rest of the citizenship outside of Mudtown, you're going to have to start buying lots of Moosejaw jackets, weekly.

[dtowncitylover]

Finally a realist! I don't mean to crash the party, but isn't there this teeny tiny rumor floating around that Detroit may enter bankruptcy? Not to mention another year of high murders? Why would any major corporations want to invest in a city that cannot even function without the help of the state?

I think that Mr. Gilbert has great intentions and I would truly love to see these "dreams" become a "reality." But I just don't see it happening until the city comes together and starts working together to eliminate the crime, the corruption and the lack of leadership that has plagued this city for years. Godspeed Detroit.

I didn't know there was a futures market for the crime rate. I mean I know we have the highest rates in the country but to assume we are going to have a year full of murders [[which is probably true) is insultingly pessimistic. Yes, insultingly pessimistic.

General Motors, Compuware, Quicken Loans, Whole Foods are corporations that invest in Detroit. Just because these corporations being rumored about are retail doesn't mean they can't invest. The city will be figured out. Did any of the major retailers or corporations leave New York City when they almost went bankrupt in 1975? When New York City's crime rate was the one of highest in the nation? And that even lasted well into the 80s.

[wolverine]

Seriously??? If this stuff has been leaked then why isn't it all over the news?

Apple stores average $6,000 a square foot in sales. These are the highest grossing stores around, three times the square foot in sales of the nearest retailer, Tiffany. I doubt Detroit is ready for this. Nor would apple build a store in an area that would mess up their sales targets.
http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2012/11/...re-foot-again/

Besides Apple is seen as over rated and about ready to have issues as the market is getting flooded with tablets and smart phones that are actually usefull [[remember apple maps/navigation)?

Apple would consider their brick and mortar sales "cute little numbers" They only care that their stores pay for themselves, not reap in huge profits. The lions share of sales is via other stores and online sales.

They didn't seem to mind building a store in Chicago's North and Clyborn district that is burdened with a horrible violent history and until recent years stood beneath the shadows dangerous public housing. And that's only a neighborhood location. Building a store in Downtown Detroit should be a cakewalk when someone behind closed doors is providing the market research assistance and incentives to set up shop.

The last part of your post is totally unnecessary. Even if Apple were to lose significant market share, what does Detroit have to do with that? Should every business pass DetroitPlanner's sustainable future test to open up shop? How about this...AT&T has high end flagships that sell all devices and rival Apple Stores in sophisticated design, and many large American cities are opening them. Will that do for Detroit?

Sometimes when I come to this site I see undertones of "If we don't have those stores in our city...well then, we're too good for them...and here's some anecdotal evidence to boot!!!" When the following:

1. Anything can open in Detroit for a price
2. None of us can say for sure whether the stores will be successful or not
3. Skeptics of development have been wrong in the past.

[prokopowicz]

I hope this all succeeds. However, can we please never use the word "renaissance" regarding Detroit? Let's not burden any new developments with this. All Detroit needs is for businesses to survive at the typical rate. No saviors required.