Retail coming to Philadelphia (King of Prussia, Washington: high income, employees, usage)

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by cpomp

I wonder how much fault landlords have in this, some stores may have been forced to close if rents were too high even if they performed well. Its rare these days that a retailer will stay open if they aren't making money on a location, its even visible on 5th Ave and Madison Ave in New York.

But its not all bad, the Fashion District is attracting a solid lineup and has been busy the few times I passed through, I figured Center City had enough demand to extend the retail district rather than replace / play musical chairs.

(Scotch and Soda is an awesome store, the Macys in Herald Square recently added a Scotch & Soda section, it would be cool if the Philadelphia Macys got some sprucing up and new lines introduced).

Hmmm, yep, New York.... Really hoping it's temporary. The 70s/80s were HORRIBLE wrt 5th Ave....empty stores. Stuff you, at your age, couldn't imagine.

Yes, FD looks good. The Armani Exchange has very nice things( I still browse these days) and the Kate Spade looks like it will open this Spring. Plenty of foot traffic. Macy's? Who knows? There's been a complete redo of the Juniper St extrance of the Wanamaker Bldg so it's more inviting.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Pennsport

The truth is that retail brick and mortar is pretty much done and done. My wife and I, and our friends, spend a good amount of money on "stuff." I haven't, and don't know anyone who has, purchased anything offline in years. The good news is that what was previously retail can now be another home, restaurant, movie venue etc... When you think about it, do we really need retail clothing or furniture stores?

You're Gen-x, right? A wedge generation that moved swiftly into online shopping whereas Boomers didn't quite so much. Once Boomers are really done who knows? I used to enjoy shopping and browsing. Now I primarily do the browsing part and skip the money spending part. My lifestyle is very different than it was when I was working.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Yea, cheap clothes and food/drink are what people like now, lol.

I'm in my late 20s and one of the very few that will spend hundreds on a single article of clothing, just my preference.

LOL! That was me when I was your age! Well, in my 30s. Not so much 20s. I am still not understanding why Chanel is skipping KoP. I would splurge on that. Virginie Viard is doing fantastic designs, imo.

[rowhomecity]

Speaking of rising rents for retailers in CC. I remember reading 2 months back there is a new owner of the Wanamaker Building. It was purchased in December.

https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate...-20191218.html

It is a NYC firm that owns GCT in NYC. Something to keep on our radar. Although the Center City Macy's is one of the highest performing stores in the companies portfolio. But if this new owner rose the rent dramatically, there is always potential that the overhead is no longer viable. This is what happened with one of the high end Department Stores in Manhattan. The new owner raised the rent dramatically and therefore they had to close.

I thoroughly enjoy/prefer department stores. They offer a variety of products and price point.

In particular Bloomingdale's. At one point around 2015 - 2017 Bloomingdale's was looking to open a Center City location, but struggled to find available space that could accommodate a full line store.

There have been rumors that the real estate PREIT acquired across from FDP would be demolished and a Bloomingdale's would locate there.

Or as an alternative it would be cool/interesting if Macy's would launch a smaller format Bloomingdale's, as they recently did with Macy's stores which is called "Market by Macy's".

[selhars]

It's not Center City, but personally I'll be following what's planned for the north side of Quartermaster Plaza, on Oregon Avenue near Girard Estates. The developer is Cedar Realty Trust.

It will be new retail and residential. Some existing tenants are staying, but moving. And nothing will look the same. Hundreds of thousands of square feet, multiple buildings from 23rd and Passyunk to 24th and Oregon. South Quarter Crossing will be the name.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by kyb01

Yes, originally. But, remember... the oldest Boomers will be 74 this year.

True. I honestly never knew any Boomers who shopped at the Talbots. Women from the Silent generation, yes, but Boomers, no. Maybe it was just who I knew.

[Fireshaker]

Originally Posted by selhars

It's not Center City, but personally I'll be following what's planned for the north side of Quartermaster Plaza, on Oregon Avenue near Girard Estates. The developer is Cedar Realty Trust.

It will be new retail and residential. Some existing tenants are staying, but moving. And nothing will look the same. Hundreds of thousands of square feet, multiple buildings from 23rd and Passyunk to 24th and Oregon. South Quarter Crossing will be the name.

I'm also very curious to see how that turns out. That is such a gnarly corner of the city, so I welcome any attempts to redevelop it into something better. I don't know if one development will do it, but it's a start. It would be great if Quartermaster itself could see more traction as well.

[selhars]

gnarly

What do you mean by that? Could you explain a bit more?

When I think gnarly, and of course it's subjective, I think of a place I'd never go.
And I'd go to Quartermaster Plaza. I'm not usually in that area. But if I were, I'd go to that shopping center.

To me, Point Breeze, Woodland Avenue, and/or Grays Ferry Shopping Center -- and Ridge Avenue are gnarly. And I don't know how they are now. But as a kid the few times we drove past there, I always thought Rising Sun Avenue was gnarly. But then again, I'm from South Philly and Eastwick so don't know the Northeast and Northwest Philly intimately.

What I find par for the course, unfortunately is that people complained that they were left out of the process in terms of neighborhood meetings about the future development. And those people are from Grays Ferry and Point Breeze. That's not their neighborhood. I don't think they should have been especially invited. No one kept them from going to the one that was held in Girard Estates.

I agree with the Councilman who countered just because they may choose to go to QP to shop doesn't mean they should necessarily have the same say as to what's put there as the immediate, closest neighbors to there.

When there's talk of something new coming to Grays Ferry or Point Breeze do they think the people from Girard Estates should have special invitations for their own community meetings on it? I think not.

[Fireshaker]

Originally Posted by selhars

What do you mean by that? Could you explain a bit more?

When I think gnarly, and of course it's subjective, I think of a place I'd never go.
And I'd go to Quartermaster Plaza. I'm not usually in that area. But if I were, I'd go to that shopping center.

When I say gnarly, I'm talking mostly about the design. It's such a weird collection of strip malls that don't work together at all, especially in the city. And I say that as someone who does go there, who does use the BJs, PetSmart, Staples, Acme, car wash, post office, etc. It's all so poorly designed, though, that it's always a bit of a headache to do so.

One of the reasons I'm excited for this project is that it embraces more dense, urban-style development in a pocket that really needs it.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by rowhomecity

Speaking of rising rents for retailers in CC. I remember reading 2 months back there is a new owner of the Wanamaker Building. It was purchased in December.

https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate...-20191218.html

It is a NYC firm that owns GCT in NYC. Something to keep on our radar. Although the Center City Macy's is one of the highest performing stores in the companies portfolio. But if this new owner rose the rent dramatically, there is always potential that the overhead is no longer viable. This is what happened with one of the high end Department Stores in Manhattan. The new owner raised the rent dramatically and therefore they had to close.

I thoroughly enjoy/prefer department stores. They offer a variety of products and price point.

In particular Bloomingdale's. At one point around 2015 - 2017 Bloomingdale's was looking to open a Center City location, but struggled to find available space that could accommodate a full line store.

There have been rumors that the real estate PREIT acquired across from FDP would be demolished and a Bloomingdale's would locate there.

Or as an alternative it would be cool/interesting if Macy's would launch a smaller format Bloomingdale's, as they recently did with Macy's stores which is called "Market by Macy's".

What is happening with Primark going into the FD?

Rumors rarely turn into facts so I'll believe the Bloomingdale's story when something concrete happens.