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Least affected? I wouldn't say so. It's true that the AT&T Discovery District opened up quite literally during the pandemic and has pumped much needed life into the center of Downtown, but unfortunately Main St. is notably more vacant than in 2019. It's a constant break even with Downtown. The Farmers Market area is still vibrant and strong though.
Downtown Raleigh is just exploding, but that probably has less to do with a bounce-back from the pandemic as it does just rapid growth. There's a ton of new housing with more under construction and many more in planning/design. Weekday nights downtown see foot traffic now daily while it used to just be a weekend nights thing. New retail and dining is slower to open in these newly constructed projects likely due to supply chain issues and a tight labor market.
Weekend nights are just packed with revelers, and that aspect has certainly bounced back and then some.
Downtown Raleigh is just exploding, but that probably has less to do with a bounce-back from the pandemic as it does just rapid growth. There's a ton of new housing with more under construction and many more in planning/design. Weekday nights downtown see foot traffic now daily while it used to just be a weekend nights thing. New retail and dining is slower to open in these newly constructed projects likely due to supply chain issues and a tight labor market.
Weekend nights are just packed with revelers, and that aspect has certainly bounced back and then some.
Raleigh has so much potential cause it’s not bisected by interstates
Cincinnati is definitely struggling. Many of the corporate office workers do not want to come back to work. The last time I was there downtown was very empty, save for a few areas near OTR. I noticed several boarded up restaurants/for lease signs. Not that Cincinnati has been very vibrant, but there is a noticeable difference before and after. Even in the metro, hundreds of businesses have permanently closed. Not a good sign.
Well, I walk through a large portion of downtown Brooklyn almost every day, and it's almost as vibrant, busy and with a lot of occupied old and newer stores, as it seemed to be pre-pandemic.
I'm sure the office worker count is way down--as it is in every single city--but all in all, if you visited downtown Brooklyn on any given day, you would not look around and say "why is everything closed up, and where is everyone?"
It's just the opposite--it's bustling and busy, with a ton of residents, tourists and office workers coming in and out of the downtown area.
There are also quite a few skyscrapers under construction, and downtown seems to be growing well again.
Since the start of the school year / after Labor Day, it seems to me like downtown Brooklyn is maybe the busiest I've ever seen it. Post Labor Day seems to have seen another bump in office workers. More importantly though, it seems like NYU's enlarged Brooklyn campus has very much opened up with facilities open and a very large student and staff population.
Since the start of the school year / after Labor Day, it seems to me like downtown Brooklyn is maybe the busiest I've ever seen it. Post Labor Day seems to have seen another bump in office workers. More importantly though, it seems like NYU's enlarged Brooklyn campus has very much opened up with facilities open and a very large student and staff population.
Yeah, totally. It's got its "mojo bustling vibes back" downtown, and it's probably in the top 5 dowtowns in the US that are back to/exceeding pre-pandemic levels (except for office workers).
Long Island City, Jersey City and Manhattan are all coming back decently well. Manhattan has certain corridors that are struggling a bit, and stretches in various neighborhoods with vacant commercial and retail storefronts.
But all in all, Manhattan is coming back pretty strong, and I imagine in the next couple of years, the city will be back to where it was. The looming question is 'will the workers return' and I do think the office will evolve as relevant once again, with worker's days. Not as traditional "5 days per week" but in a form that might have a smaller overall office footprint and 2 or 3 days per week usage model.
And other office buildings that are not utilized might see their space converted into residential/hotel.
When I went to Jacksonville (actually Ponte Vedra) earlier in the summer it looks as if the pandemic never happened. Miami didn't look too bad either, at least in South Beach. There was also heavy police presence.
Downtown Jacksonville seemed pretty deserted, and a little unsafe. I was there for conference in June, and I pretty much only saw homeless people and a few police officers (my hotel was across the street from a prison). It was also just completely dead with no pedestrian traffic and mostly empty storefronts, I explored it by Bird scooter.
Can't speak for the rest of Florida though, haven't been.
Downtown Jacksonville seemed pretty deserted, and a little unsafe. I was there for conference in June, and I pretty much only saw homeless people and a few police officers (my hotel was across the street from a prison). It was also just completely dead with no pedestrian traffic and mostly empty storefronts, I explored it by Bird scooter.
Can't speak for the rest of Florida though, haven't been.
I have not been to Florida since well before the pandemic, but it seems like this has been the case for Jacksonville every time I have been there. I grew up in downtown Savannah in the 90s and early 2000s and get back a lot to see my grandma who still lives downtown. I was shocked the first time we took a family trip to Jacksonville and all my subsequent trips there. The downtown was so deserted compared to what I was used to in Savannah. Jacksonville is one of the most sprawling cities in the US and has not seen as much residential development downtown as other major Florida cities.
However, this isn't really the status quo for all places in Florida. Having also been to Orlando, Tampa, Winter Park, Sanford, and St. Augustine (tourist center so not sure it counts), all those places have had very lively downtowns with a healthy amount of pedestrian traffic and storefronts.
Cincinnati is definitely struggling. Many of the corporate office workers do not want to come back to work. The last time I was there downtown was very empty, save for a few areas near OTR. I noticed several boarded up restaurants/for lease signs. Not that Cincinnati has been very vibrant, but there is a noticeable difference before and after. Even in the metro, hundreds of businesses have permanently closed. Not a good sign.
This seems to be a very strong trend, save for a handful of cities, within this population group.
They were hit the hardest with the pandemic, and mid-sized cities that had somewhat strong office/white collar downtowns are now dealing with mostly deserted downtowns, due to their low residential and tourist crowds.
Cities like Cincinnati, Louisville, Indianapolis, etc are struggling from what I've heard and read, and even fast-growth cities like Charlotte and Atlanta are faced with super quiet downtowns.
I think it will take years for many of these cities to fully recover. Those cities with tourist bases and lots of residential downtown (think Miami, Nashville, even New Orleans), won't have as long of a recovery time.
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