Big Bridge Street Announcement (Huntsville, Madison: hotel, landscaping, tenant)

[brianjb]

I don't know if having another restaurant or store is going to be good for the city. We only have X number of residents with X dollars of disposable income. Closing stores, moving them across town, opening new restaurants, closing others....I don't see it as a gain.

let's say you have $400/month of disposable money; and you spend it 75% on food and 25% on clothing....and you shop exclusively at Bridgestreet because that is the nicest place to shop. Once the new restaurant opens, you won't magically get more money to spend. You will make a choice on where to spend the money. So one of your old favorite restaurants gets less revenue from you and the new one may see a new customer.

It's going to be survival of the fittest, for sure.

[RatSnake]

Originally Posted by brianjb

I don't know if having another restaurant or store is going to be good for the city. We only have X number of residents with X dollars of disposable income. Closing stores, moving them across town, opening new restaurants, closing others....I don't see it as a gain.

let's say you have $400/month of disposable money; and you spend it 75% on food and 25% on clothing....and you shop exclusively at Bridgestreet because that is the nicest place to shop. Once the new restaurant opens, you won't magically get more money to spend. You will make a choice on where to spend the money. So one of your old favorite restaurants gets less revenue from you and the new one may see a new customer.

It's going to be survival of the fittest, for sure.

Well - that is what the free market is all about.
Current players have to innovate or they will become uncompetitive.

There is a balance ... and this what mall owners do - creating a balanced list of tenants.
But you can't control this on a county-wide scale.

[BMW Dave]

Kind of like how McAlisters and Jasons Deli and Mama Goldberg and Panera Bread use to compete for the same lunch sandwich market in the same complex.

McAlisters lost, now Shanes is there.

I am not super stoked for Cheesecake, but since I never go to PF or Cantino, it would definitely bring me in.

You will still see me at my usual places, but it would be a temptation, that currently isn't met.

[brianjb]

Originally Posted by RatSnake

Well - that is what the free market is all about.
Current players have to innovate or they will become uncompetitive.

There is a balance ... and this what mall owners do - creating a balanced list of tenants.
But you can't control this on a county-wide scale.

Yeah the free market is great. It is part of what this such a great country.

I guess I am amused on how stores close and move across town. Like what happened with Toys R Us and Bed Bath & Beyond.

[FiveDime]

Originally Posted by bmrisko

Just my $.02...the potential rainy weather and long walk whining is getting kind of old and for those who continue to voice their disdain for the place, no one is forcing you to shop there anyways...

Well allow me to continue the discussion then...

I have no qualms with parking a long way away and walking, if I am going to spend some time shopping. It is when I have a half-dozen errands to run in an afternoon and one invloves hitting a certain spot or another within Bridge street, or when I want to get something to go for lunch during my very short workday lunch break, that parking is an issue for me personally. Like *ANY OTHER MALL* it's not really built to run in and out of quickly, with the possible exception of anchor-type stores at the perimeter.

Weather...I hate getting rained on. Period. maybe it's a character flaw, but getting rained on just kind of wrecks my day for me. In enough rain, no umbrella in the world will keep your bottom half dry, which means my day will be half-wrecked at best shopping at Bridge Street in the rain...and that presumes I actually have a functioning umbrella (they break so easily and so often these days, it seems) with me (instead of at my desk at work from the last rainy day, or packed in my luggage from the last business trip, or...). But seriously, given anyone with any aversion to rain (or other weather), when it's raining (or whatever) where do you think they'd rather go...BS or a indoor mall?

"No one is forcing you to shop there anyways..." is hardly a ringing endorsement for a shopping center of any description. Retailers, if they have half a brain and expect to survive, will do everything in their power to make their stores as welcoming and accessible to folks as possible. Personally, I find Bridge Street a perfectly acceptable place to shop on a pleasant day when I have time to spare. But that hardly describes every day of my life, nor every day of Huntsville's weather. I remain unsure why you, or anyone, would feel so personally put off by anyone else's reasoning as to why they might not like to go somewhere (are you one of the developers of BS?) that you let it get to you when folks express their opinions...

[Dirt Grinder]

The lack of awnings over store entrances is one thing that really stands-out on a rainy day at BSTC.

[bmrisko]

Originally Posted by Dirt Grinder

The lack of awnings over store entrances is one thing that really stands-out on a rainy day at BSTC.

Are you sure you're going to the right Bridge Street?







(Granted, not every store has an awning, but quite a few do...I believe the facade design is up to the individual store, of course with approval from the BSTC developers.)

[AU HSV]

well the "new" store will be Belks, what a disappointment.
Nice how they screwed the city to get a new store while they abandon the one at Madison Square.
Bridge Street Town Centre just announced that its new department store opening in early 2015 will be a Belk.

"We look forward to having Belk, a high-quality traditional department store, added to our tenant mix," Doug Badia, executive vice president for O&S Management Services, said in a news release.

"Belk will bring their extensive assortment of premier fashion merchandise for the whole family, as well as their excellent customer service," said Badia.

[Dirt Grinder]

Originally Posted by bmrisko

Are you sure you're going to the right Bridge Street?

LOL - I wish all of the stores would get awnings. It really makes a difference on a cold rainy day.

[Dirt Grinder]

Originally Posted by AU HSV

well the "new" store will be Belks...

Wah...wah...wahhhhhhh...