Downtown Macy's Closing (Pittsburgh, Carnegie, Liberty: construction, restaurants, bus)

[pman]

Originally Posted by jay5835

One of my favorite things about living in Portland was being able to shop downtown after work. A wonderful downtown area. And as I recall, people didn't b**** about paying to have to park downtown. Pittsburgh is the only city I've lived in where downtown was diminished, if not defeated, by the lack of free parking.

I suspect it has more to do with the lack of hotel rooms and population not just downtown but in the surrounding neighborhoods. The hotels have come back and the downtown population is growing but it's not at a critical mass for retail. If you think about it there's the stadium district, allegheny center, the strip, and former hill district, etc which have all emptied out or been empty. Philadelphia is a seeing retail renaissance but it comes on the heels of years of growing population in both the city center and surrounding neighborhoods and tourism. I'd suspect you'll see more smaller stores like uniqlo before department stores. Seems to be more in line with what people want

[gladhands]

Originally Posted by expdxer

There also appears to be a correlation between a vibrant downtown for shopping and a higher cost of living of a city, such as the West Coast cities, not to mention NYC. That's unfortunate. I live in the D.C. area. Even though I don't have a car, I still go to malls in Virginia since they are transit accessible. I don't find downtown D.C. to be a very appealing shopping environment, except for Friendship Heights (to those familiar with the area.)

I think you'll find that urban retail is linked to population density and mass transit ridership. Chicago has thriving urban retail, and a cost of living that is practically Southern. I think you'll also find a chopping district that is often adjacent to, nut ultimately separate from the central business district. SoHo, not Wall Street. Magnificent Mile, not the Loop. Georgetown, not K Street. Newbury St, not Downtown Boston. Pittsburgh has no such adjacent strip, and while transit ridership, is relatively high, population density isn't (relative to the major urban shopping destinations).

[Flamingo13]

I thought this was the Macy's closing thread??

[Blackbeauty212]

Originally Posted by gladhands

I think you'll find that urban retail is linked to population density and mass transit ridership. Chicago has thriving urban retail, and a cost of living that is practically Southern. I think you'll also find a chopping district that is often adjacent to, nut ultimately separate from the central business district. SoHo, not Wall Street. Magnificent Mile, not the Loop. Georgetown, not K Street. Newbury St, not Downtown Boston. Pittsburgh has no such adjacent strip, and while transit ridership, is relatively high, population density isn't (relative to the major urban shopping destinations).

Pittsburgh has thriving retail in its Neighborhoods, another challenge it has that other cities don't ..... Pittsburgh has Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, South Side Works, East Liberty, The Waterfront, L'ville, Bloomfield. All with Stores that would mostly be located in the "Downtown" in other cities, and in those cities, the neighborhoods would travel Downtown to experience the shopping that we experience here in our Neighborhoods.

This is a challenge for Downtown Pittsburgh, in that it must compete with already successful neighborhoods, so how does Downtown get in on that Retail scene without robbing from those same neighborhoods? As much as I want thriving retail downtown (really the last and biggest missing piece of the puzzle), I don't want to take from Walnut Street, Forbes and Murray, the Waterfront, South Side Works, Butler Street, etc.

[doo dah]

More closings to come.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by doo dah

More closings to come.

I wouldn't be surprised if their Century 3 store was on the list.

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212

This is a challenge for Downtown Pittsburgh, in that it must compete with already successful neighborhoods, so how does Downtown get in on that Retail scene without robbing from those same neighborhoods?

IMHO it will take significantly greater numbers of people living and working downtown. I'm from San Francisco which has bustling retail in its neighborhoods and downtown. It's only 49 square miles and has a population of roughly 850,000. That number goes up daily with commuters who work in the city and out of town visitors. Of course a significant number of people who live in SF commute to Silicon Valley. However, young techies want to live in the city and many of the tech companies now have offices in the city. Population density makes all the difference.

[Blackbeauty212]

Originally Posted by Goodjules

Population density makes all the difference.

That's the thing, Downtown Pittsburgh was NEVER a neighborhood, never seen as residential, it was purely a CBD that closed at 5-6pm M-F, and all activities took place in the neighborhoods which people lived.

As Downtown plays a role as Neighborhood too, it must attract a Retail corridor, otherwise it will never sustain its momentum. Something will ALWAYS be missing to potential Downtown dwellers. Macy's closing really hit a sore spot with the newer residences that just relocated to Downtown as the last piece of significant retail is shuttering.

IF downtown is to sustain its evolution into 'neighborhood' status, it MUST begin to establish a Retail Corridor.

[erieguy]

Big business wants big $$$. When that business is available a few miles away in Ross or Bethel Park, that's where it and people are going to go to spend $$$. It's more convenient combined with more of a selection. People go to the city for events, to eat, drink, gamble, etc... Be thankful those things are in the city to attract people and $$$.

[pman]

Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212

That's the thing, Downtown Pittsburgh was NEVER a neighborhood, never seen as residential, it was purely a CBD that closed at 5-6pm M-F, and all activities took place in the neighborhoods which people lived.

As Downtown plays a role as Neighborhood too, it must attract a Retail corridor, otherwise it will never sustain its momentum. Something will ALWAYS be missing to potential Downtown dwellers. Macy's closing really hit a sore spot with the newer residences that just relocated to Downtown as the last piece of significant retail is shuttering.

IF downtown is to sustain its evolution into 'neighborhood' status, it MUST begin to establish a Retail Corridor.

downtown has not recovered from the removal of 8000 residents to build a hockey arena. no doubt the renewal projects at allegheny center and highways gutting the northside had similar affects. OTOH, people have to come first before retail, that's the way it works.as people move in (or visit, or work there) new things open. there are a lot more place to go at night than there were ten years ago (downtown) and people continue to move downtown it's just going to take some time.