Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz Shopping Strip Centers.... (Oxnard: fit in, 2011)

[the city]

Okay, I'm no Einstein andnd I have been trying to figure what type of shopping center exactly is a strip center. So, if I could get some examples of shopping strip centers from the 4 cities above that would be great. The only strip center I know is The Esplanade in Oxnard, Ca.

I'm not sure if San Luis Obispo Promenade, Santa Maria Shopping Center, or Stowell Center are shopping strip centers.

I haven't done much shopping in Santa Maria, so I wouldn't know what the Santa Maria shopping centers are like.

Thanks for any help.

[grimstuff]

A strip mall can be just about any single commercial development built in a linear fashion. SLO promenade and the Best buy area are both what I would call strip malls. Its pretty comical, since slo promenade is anything but a promenade. The downtown center (barnes and noble, starbucks, etc) is what I would call both a promenade and open-air mall. It's enclosed from vehicle traffic, whereas the Modonna plaza area is all directly accessible by vehicles with drop-off points, adjacent parking, etc.

[the city]

The Downtown Centre is not an open-air mall since it's not big enough and has no department stores. However, I would agree that it is a promenade in a sense. The SLO Promenade is only promenade being it has an alley way a coffee shop and some other shops.

So a strip mall I thought was any shopping center that used to be a mall. And a strip center was a long linear shopping center with no real anchor. The Madonna Plaza is almost v shaped, and is considered a power center under loopnet.com. I thought the long strip of stores in the Esplanade Shopping center in Oxnard that just has Home Depot is a strip center or strip mall since it used to be a mall.

[grimstuff]

Originally Posted by the city

The Downtown Centre is not an open-air mall since it's not big enough and has no department stores.

A mall doesn't have to contain department stores. A mall is simply a place where people walk around and shop. Its a very vague term, and doesn't have to mean an enclosed shopping mall, (the "malls" we are most familiar with have only become popular in recent decades--malls have existed for millenia).

However, I would agree that it is a promenade in a sense. The SLO Promenade is only promenade being it has an alley way a coffee shop and some other shops.

A promenade is a linear pedestrian-oriented pathway with some sort of delineation which could consist of nearly anything. Promenades are different everywhere. In South American and European countries, promenades are often places to gather and walk back and forth, visiting or meeting with people along the way. Or they can be simply places to walk or jog along, next to some waterfront or park area. A good example of this is in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood with the promenade along the East River looking out on Manhattan. The Slo Promenade is only meant to be a kitschy name, and is not indicative of a literal promenade. An alley way is not a promenade.

So a strip mall I thought was any shopping center that used to be a mall. And a strip center was a long linear shopping center with no real anchor. The Madonna Plaza is almost v shaped, and is considered a power center under loopnet.com. I thought the long strip of stores in the Esplanade Shopping center in Oxnard that just has Home Depot is a strip center or strip mall since it used to be a mall.

I think you may be over-analyzing it. A strip mall may, in fact be a shopping center that used to be a mall, since the same area is likely more auto-oriented and surrounded or adjacent to streets and parking. However, thousands of cities and towns all over America have strip malls. These have auto-oriented land uses along "strips" of the most-travelled roads through the settlements. The vast majority of these have nothing to do with once being a shopping center as we know them.

A more formal definition is: "a mercantile establishment consisting of a row of various stores and business and restaurants along a road or busy street"

[the city]

Originally Posted by grimstuff

A mall doesn't have to contain department stores. A mall is simply a place where people walk around and shop. Its a very vague term, and doesn't have to mean an enclosed shopping mall, (the "malls" we are most familiar with have only become popular in recent decades--malls have existed for millenia).



A promenade is a linear pedestrian-oriented pathway with some sort of delineation which could consist of nearly anything. Promenades are different everywhere. In South American and European countries, promenades are often places to gather and walk back and forth, visiting or meeting with people along the way. Or they can be simply places to walk or jog along, next to some waterfront or park area. A good example of this is in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood with the promenade along the East River looking out on Manhattan. The Slo Promenade is only meant to be a kitschy name, and is not indicative of a literal promenade. An alley way is not a promenade.



I think you may be over-analyzing it. A strip mall may, in fact be a shopping center that used to be a mall, since the same area is likely more auto-oriented and surrounded or adjacent to streets and parking. However, thousands of cities and towns all over America have strip malls. These have auto-oriented land uses along "strips" of the most-travelled roads through the settlements. The vast majority of these have nothing to do with once being a shopping center as we know them.

A more formal definition is: "a mercantile establishment consisting of a row of various stores and business and restaurants along a road or busy street"

http://www.icsc.org/srch/lib/USDefinitions.pdf

Please read this, and all of it's defintions about shopping centers including the regional center (aka mall). If you really want to get technical, then it's a regional open-air mall is what San Luis Obispo needs. The 3 major shopping centers in SLO county are the SLO downtown, Pismo Prime Outlets, and SLO Promenade and then if Dalidio builds a "regional" open-air mall with Macy's and target, an arcade, and a food court then SLO county and SLO city will be complete. a regional mall is the only main thing slo lacks from getting the city life.

[Dean Trails]

Originally Posted by the city

http://www.icsc.org/srch/lib/USDefinitions.pdf

Please read this, and all of it's defintions about shopping centers including the regional center (aka mall). If you really want to get technical, then it's a regional open-air mall is what San Luis Obispo needs. The 3 major shopping centers in SLO county are the SLO downtown, Pismo Prime Outlets, and SLO Promenade and then if Dalidio builds a "regional" open-air mall with Macy's and target, an arcade, and a food court then SLO county and SLO city will be complete. a regional mall is the only main thing slo lacks from getting the city life.

Why would you want SLO to have "the city life" as you call it? SLO seems pretty much perfect the way it is!

There is more than enough shopping opportunities in the area. If an area overbuilds then the small businesses in the area decline.

It would be just perfect of Dalidio stayed as open space/ agricultural. I would love to see it as a farm that grows a variety of organic fruit, veggies,and livestock. It would be great as an area of natural recycling and clean water production. Maybe a farm run completely on solar and wind. That area does have a quite a breeze. Rental cottages for the farm vacation? Kids would love it!
A lot could be done there that would be much more inviting than a mall!

[vdy1985]

Originally Posted by Dean Trails

Why would you want SLO to have "the city life" as you call it? SLO seems pretty much perfect the way it is!

Exactly. We don't want to build another LA on the central coast. You want "the city life" go to LA or the Bay.

[Capt. Dan]

Originally Posted by vdy1985

Exactly. We don't want to build another LA on the central coast. You want "the city life" go to LA or the Bay.

I cant figure out "the city!" When I was a lad of his age I had a 1 track mind too. But it was about girls. This kid seems to be stuck on malls. Geesh!

[FresnoFacts]

Its the teen age lament of "there is nothing to do". Doesn't matter where you grow up, but that is why so many move away from home to another city.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Here is what classifies strip centers.

The proposed strip center classification scheme consists of nine classes; three of which have previously been defined by the ICSC. The remaining classifications are an attempt to more accurately classify other strip centers.

• • Tenant-within-an anchor center,
  • Power center,
  • Outlet center.
  • The supermarket anchored class is designed for those centers anchored by supermarkets. There are two types: 1) the supermarket anchor and (2) the supermarket plus the junior department store anchor.
  • The discount anchored centers are anchored by either a discount department store or a warehouse club.
  • The combination center consists of two anchors. The combination anchors can be the supermarket, the discount department store, or a vacant anchor.
  • The vacant anchored center is the bridge between the old strip and the new strip.
  • The unusual strip center class is designed to accommodate those strip centers that are just a bit odd. However, if the anchor definitions were manipulated, these centers could fit in one of the previous classes.
  • Finally, the non-strip classification is a category for those centers that look like a strip, act like a strip, but are not quite a strip. A majority of these centers began as strips, then underwent modifications to become enclosed malls, but were never completely enclosed.