Effort to create women's fashion hub Downtown (Pittsburgh, Taylor: tenants, theater)

[BrianTH]

The article:

Downtown looks to fill void left by Saks' exit

I'm always a bit skeptical of efforts to manufacture a retail scene, but boutique retail like this is one of the places market share has gone from the dying downtown department store model, and it appears to be better positioned against online retail. And judging from the response so far, maybe a little organization can help jumpstart the cluster process:

Also a member of the mayor's working group, Mr. Valentine has taken the lead in searching for tenants. So far, he said he has received inquiries from 22 potential women's fashion retailers -- mostly clothing stores, but also some that sell shoes, accessories or jewelry -- simply through word of mouth. "It looks like we have a pretty decent cross-section right now," he said, adding most are more upscale in nature.

Mr. Valentine hopes to formalize the search through a request for proposals, possibly through the new Downtown organization. He said the first retailers could be in place by the end of the year. "I'm encouraged that we're getting this kind of response, obviously," Mr. Ziegler said. "It's a great location for this use and we have some storefronts available so we want to move it ahead."

[Burghgirl17]

I'd be all for this. There are tons of places for men to shop downtown, and very little for women. Two years ago I was asked to attend something last minute and needed to get a women's blazer/suit jacket. Macy's opens late, Ann Taylor was gone - I ended up at Burlington.

[I_Like_Spam]

I don't know, there are already concentrations of womens' clothing retailers on Walnut St. as well as at Ross Park.

What downtown retail needs is variety stores and other lower brow type of stores.

Burlington certainly meets that profile and has been in town for many years. If another anchor like Family Dollar could be brought to Smithfield St., it could bring back shopping crowds and still other stores.

Back in the day, WT Grant's was on the Saks site. Elsewhere in town, Woolworth's, Murphy's and McCrory's did pretty well. Not everyone really shops for high fashion, its a limited market particularly in a declining economy overall.

[gg]

A Walmart. Lets face it, downtown shopping is on a steep decline. The old Kaufmann's that is sadly now a Macy's, has been reducing its size. No Hornes and Gimbels. Now no Saks. Shopping downtown is over. Best to except that and look at other ideas to keep people downtown for events or things to do.

[Blackbeauty212]

I disagree Curtis.....The Department Store concept is Over...Not Downtown Shopping

For a mass draw I would like to see a Multiplex downtown in the Sacks area to bring people into town and keep them there afterwards it would be a boon to businesses all around it from Shopping to Dining...

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by Blackbeauty212

For a mass draw I would like to see a Multiplex downtown in the Sacks area to bring people into town and keep them there afterwards it would be a boon to businesses all around it from Shopping to Dining...

A multiplex in town sounds like a pretty good idea to explore.

Back in the day, downtown had numerous movie theatres- of course that was in the day before multiplexes.

[Burghgirl17]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

I don't know, there are already concentrations of womens' clothing retailers on Walnut St. as well as at Ross Park.

I think the downtown area also can cater to the lunch shoppers and dinner/theater crowd. Having a few stores in a concentrated area would be great. Somewhere close to the cultural district would cater to both the lunch and evening crowds, as opposed to retailers that are somewhere like Oxford Center - which is really a lunch-only area. If there were some name brand chain stores (Ann Taylor, Gap, etc.) I would definitely go shopping on my lunch sometimes.

Walnut Street and Ross Park cater to much different audiences.

[Burghgirl17]

I just had a chance to read the article. While I understand that space is limited downtown, I am not a fan of the proposed location: "a section of Wood Street between Point Park University and Fifth Avenue." During the day that isn't terrible, but I think it is too far away from the evening/weekend activity hubs of the Cultural District and Market Square.

[BrianTH]

That area is only a block away from Market Square, and the block in between is starting to function as an extension of Market Square.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

A Walmart. Lets face it, downtown shopping is on a steep decline. The old Kaufmann's that is sadly now a Macy's, has been reducing its size. No Hornes and Gimbels. Now no Saks. Shopping downtown is over. Best to except that and look at other ideas to keep people downtown for events or things to do.

Same with Atlanta. Other than a center for corporations, health, and education, downtown's best bet is for entertainment and events. Pittsburgh could use more lines like The T to draw people to downtown (and the airport).