Homestead & Waterfront (Bloomfield, Oakland: rent, buy, theater)

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Copanut

When times were good in Homestead, it had a great business district. People didn't seem to care about lack of parking or the RR tracks. Small town biz districts are out of fashion these days, especially in distressed areas like Homestead.

That's because local residents had disposable income and walked to those stores.

[UKyank]

The only way traditional Main Street shopping disctricts survive today is where people have $$. Outside of bars & restuarants, the stores that operate on today's main streets are mainy boutique, speciality shops (i.e. expensive furniture, housewares, arts/crafts, etc) with a few staple stores in between (drug stores, convenience store, etc).
A victorias secret, target, abercrombie, gap, etc aren't going to take a chance & rehab some old main street building, where parking (i.e. patrons) are limited, costs are more and profits are less. If a place is a current shopping mecca which is already bringing in lots of people then yes, these national chains will open up a store on a main street to capture the income, but 8th ave is far from attracting any people currently & no one is going to risk investing their capital in an area where local incomes are low or nonexistent.

I mean if anyone here had a million dollars lying around would you invest it in downtown Homestead? RR tracks have nothing to do with the state of Homestead, it just offers nothing worth traveling to and the local residents don't have the income to support it being built up and it has a bad image in general in the minds of most.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by Hopes

That's because local residents had disposable income and walked to those stores.

That was my point, Captain Obvious.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212

Yes and it damn sure wasn't Shopping, Restaurants, and Movie Theaters.

But damn sure they crossed the tracks all the time, dontcha think? It's a far cry from "people had no reason to cross the tracks". Just because it wasn't for shopping on both sides doesn't negate this aspect.

The tracks are not the barrier. The barrier is that there is not exactly anything worth crossing over for, for the shoppers who have driven into the Waterfront, especially if their drive in and home is over the bridge anyway.

Seems like chicken and egg. You don't really know the potential of 8th Ave until people open stuff there, and it's hard for most to take chances opening there when you don't know the potential.

Unless I'm missing something about what has opened on 8th Ave. I only know of a couple places open in that area that might appeal to me, stuff like aforementioned Tin Front Cafe. It's been some months since I've been over there.

[stburr91]

It's not that you only hope to attract the Waterfront shoppers across the tracks into Homestead by better connecting the two, but you hope to attract people to live and invest in Homestead to be near the Waterfront.

[Uptown kid]

[quote] The only way traditional Main Street shopping disctricts survive today is where people have $$. [quote] Bingo

[PreservationPioneer]

Originally Posted by UKyank

A victorias secret, target, abercrombie, gap, etc aren't going to take a chance & rehab some old main street building, where parking (i.e. patrons) are limited, costs are more and profits are less.

Ever been to Chestnut St. in Center City Philadelphia?

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

Ever been to Chestnut St. in Center City Philadelphia?

You're comparing Chestnut Street to 8th Avenue in Homestead? What hundred block?

[Blackbeauty212]

Originally Posted by greg42

But damn sure they crossed the tracks all the time, dontcha think? It's a far cry from "people had no reason to cross the tracks". Just because it wasn't for shopping on both sides doesn't negate this aspect.

But your talking about totally different circumstances people will go anywhere and cross anything when it means their job....That's not what we're talking about though, and this isn't a discuss about the past. It's about present day 8th Ave vs present day Waterfront

The tracks are not the barrier. The barrier is that there is not exactly anything worth crossing over for, for the shoppers who have driven into the Waterfront, especially if their drive in and home is over the bridge anyway.

The tracks are a barrier, they split the neighborhood in half.....Some people consider the Waterfront to be its own Neighborhood separate from Homestead...You clearly know where the Waterfront ends and "Homestead" begins...

I never anyone someone describe a location in the Waterfront as being in Homestead...they now mostly say "On/In the Waterfront"

Seems like chicken and egg. You don't really know the potential of 8th Ave until people open stuff there, and it's hard for most to take chances opening there when you don't know the potential.

8 Ave has a ton of potential, not as a Retail corridor anymore the Waterfront has sucked that status up.....all 8 Ave can do is provide essentials that are not found in the Waterfront.

[UKyank]

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

Ever been to Chestnut St. in Center City Philadelphia?

Yes, hence why I also had the sentence following the one you quoted. Chestnut was a preexisting successful shopping area visited by millions, abercrombie et al weren't urban pioneers there