Brookwood Village Dead or Alive? (Birmingham, Hoover: real estate, rent, house)

[MiriamALtoTN]

First time poster here I joined because I'm concerned about my old stomping grounds. I went to Brookwood Village a couple of weekends ago and it was dead with lots of empty stores. I did a quick Yelp search and found that others share the same concerns.

What is going on there?

Also, I heard the Galleria is getting a Nordstrom or is that old news? It will be interesting to see if it's like Saks and doesn't carry the same full luxury lines.

Sorry for multiple questions! I'm mainly just concerned that Brookwood is such a flop and raises question as to the economic viability of the city (Homewood/Birmingham) as a whole. Is it not doing well?

[TimCity2000]

Enclosed malls are dying all over... I don't think it's a problem unique to Homewood/Birmingham. I feel like only the large/regional malls (like the Galleria) will survive.

Had not heard about the Galleria getting a Nordstrom. Unless you are referring to an announcement from like 8 years ago.

[MiriamALtoTN]

Originally Posted by TimCity2000

Enclosed malls are dying all over... I don't think it's a problem unique to Homewood/Birmingham. I feel like only the large/regional malls (like the Galleria) will survive.

Had not heard about the Galleria getting a Nordstrom. Unless you are referring to an announcement from like 8 years ago.

I understand that's a trend among lower income areas but Brookwood Village is in/near the highest-brow zip codes in Alabama. I live in Nashville now and the malls that I'm familiar with seem to be ever-thriving.

[JesseRohr]

I went to the Lenscrafters in there yesterday for an eye exam. I was there nearly 90 minutes and only one patron came in that I saw that entire time.

When I walked the remainder of the upper retail floor I saw less than ten patrons total. There were more employees in the food court at various places than any customers.

Sad, sad place.

[MiriamALtoTN]

Originally Posted by JesseRohr

I went to the Lenscrafters in there yesterday for an eye exam. I was there nearly 90 minutes and only one patron came in that I saw that entire time.

When I walked the remainder of the upper retail floor I saw less than ten patrons total. There were more employees in the food court at various places than any customers.

Sad, sad place.

Yes Jesse, that's very much like my experience. I wonder if it has anything to do with Homewood residents being house-poor. I know my girlfriends over-spent big time on their homes there and cannot afford to fix their cars. They probably make less money than I do. I know it's a nice part of town but I think maybe the pockets aren't as deep as I would have thought. Or the deep pockets are 80+ years old and don't support retail very much anymore. I'm going to ask my friend who is in Real Estate there what he thinks.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

The Galleria is only surviving because it's one of the biggest indoor malls around. Who knows what the future holds for it, it's pretty dated. I don't see Hoover letting it falter, though.

To the poster above, being house poor is not the reason. Good grief. Have you seen the activity at the Summit?

[steveklein]

Originally Posted by MiriamALtoTN

Yes Jesse, that's very much like my experience. I wonder if it has anything to do with Homewood residents being house-poor. I know my girlfriends over-spent big time on their homes there and cannot afford to fix their cars. They probably make less money than I do. I know it's a nice part of town but I think maybe the pockets aren't as deep as I would have thought. Or the deep pockets are 80+ years old and don't support retail very much anymore. I'm going to ask my friend who is in Real Estate there what he thinks.

I'll save you a conversation.

Amazon + The Summit

That is why Brookwood is struggling. Too bad, really. I quite prefer enclosed malls. I still can't really figure out the big advantages of these outdoor "lifestyle centers" (ie... The Summit) over them. I suppose rent for the tenants could be cheaper since I imagine the tenants "waste" a lot of money heating/cooling/lighting the common spaces.

And it is a nationwide trend thing. I would have lost a lot of money betting on which type of mall would win out 20 years ago. Never in a million years would I have thought people would rather do their Christmas shopping outside than inside, particularly in cities like Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Boston, etc.

[bhamblazer]

Originally Posted by steveklein

I'll save you a conversation.

Amazon + The Summit

That is why Brookwood is struggling. Too bad, really. I quite prefer enclosed malls. I still can't really figure out the big advantages of these outdoor "lifestyle centers" (ie... The Summit) over them. I suppose rent for the tenants could be cheaper since I imagine the tenants "waste" a lot of money heating/cooling/lighting the common spaces.

And it is a nationwide trend thing. I would have lost a lot of money betting on which type of mall would win out 20 years ago. Never in a million years would I have thought people would rather do their Christmas shopping outside than inside, particularly in cities like Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Boston, etc.

It seems like people in suburban settings hate to walk very far. Pulling up right next to the store you're going to > all other concerns.

[MinivanDriver]

Originally Posted by steveklein

I'll save you a conversation.

Amazon + The Summit

That is why Brookwood is struggling. Too bad, really. I quite prefer enclosed malls. I still can't really figure out the big advantages of these outdoor "lifestyle centers" (ie... The Summit) over them. I suppose rent for the tenants could be cheaper since I imagine the tenants "waste" a lot of money heating/cooling/lighting the common spaces.

And it is a nationwide trend thing. I would have lost a lot of money betting on which type of mall would win out 20 years ago. Never in a million years would I have thought people would rather do their Christmas shopping outside than inside, particularly in cities like Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Boston, etc.

This pretty much nails it. The Summit has better retailers a scant three miles away. It's easier to park, too.

Plus it's important to realize that Amazon only hastened what was already an incipient disaster with retailers. The overbuilding of American retail centers was insane, far out of proportion to any logical absorption study. Currently, in the United States, the cumulative total of retail space per shopper is something like 2x that of the next-highest country, Australia, and five times that of the EU. So what's happening at Brookwood is really a microcosm of what's happening nationally.

Last year, I performed 90% of my Christmas shopping online, either with Amazon or some other retailer. I did it at night, without battling traffic or getting out in the cold and rain. What was left I did in more specialized retail centers such as Mountain Brook Village or Homewood. Because while I still need to shop for unique items, the stuff you find at Amazon is about the same as what you'd find at a Best Buy or whatever.

[jero23]

Brookwood Village will likely be redeveloped like North Hills was in Raleigh. I have been seeing this as the likely future for the area, becoming a mixed use center with several office towers.