Retail in Richmond

[StevenRocks]

Speaking of Cloverleaf Mall and its redevelopment...

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I think the new Cloverleaf Mall plan is the highest and best use for the property (and this is coming from a hard-core mall fan).

[wrldcoupe4]

Hey Steven how do you feel about the planned lifestyle center going in at Watkins Centre that will be the largest in the area? i.e. bigger than Short Pump TC. Personally I'm concerned that the market will become oversaturated. I'd also HATE to see Chesterfield Towne Center follow the same path as Cloverleaf.... Speaking of CTC, I've always been surprised at its success given the fact it isn't near a highway of any sort. It's at one of the busiest intersections in the area: Courthouse and Midlothian.

[wrldcoupe4]

Some pics of Stony Point Fashion Park

Brio Tuscan Grille

Saks and Brooks Brothers to the left

And a couple from RCW where many more can be found

[wrldcoupe4]

A couple of short pump town center? sure why not?

a small one

a couple from with many more back there

[StevenRocks]

Hey Steven how do you feel about the planned lifestyle center going in at Watkins Centre that will be the largest in the area? i.e. bigger than Short Pump TC. Personally I'm concerned that the market will become oversaturated. I'd also HATE to see Chesterfield Towne Center follow the same path as Cloverleaf.... Speaking of CTC, I've always been surprised at its success given the fact it isn't near a highway of any sort. It's at one of the busiest intersections in the area: Courthouse and Midlothian.

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From the outset, it sounds like it could kill CTC; that's one heck of a location.

If they can convince Hecht's/Macy's it's a good idea and land another major retailer, it's gonna happen, I think. CTC is no big loss overall. It's a rather crappy mall.

Edited May 4, 2005 by StevenRocks

[wrldcoupe4]

From the outset, it sounds like it could kill CTC; that's one heck of a location. 

If they can convince Hecht's/Macy's it's a good idea and land another major retailer, it's gonna happen, I think.  CTC is no big loss overall.  It's a rather crappy mall.

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Ouch...I don't think it's that bad, they just completed a renovation a couple years ago. Not to mention they have future plans.....I've shopped there forever, I'd hate to see it go; especially if it was a slow and painful death like that of cloverleaf. CTC hasnt been to affected by the new malls because they are predominantly upscale. CTC is more of a middle/upper middle class mall. i.e. I can pronounce the names of the stores I agree that the location for Watkins is pretty great though from a real estate stand point.

[wrldcoupe4]

Vacancy is also extremely low...maybe 5% at the absolute highest

[StevenRocks]

Maybe I am being a little harsh about CTC. It's never been a favorite of mine, but the mall isn't that bad in all honesty. Any place with 95% occupancy can't be that bad.

They pulled off a major coup over the past decade. Originally, CTC was the "other" mall back when it only had Miller & Rhoads and Cloverleaf was the king of the hill. The '80s expansion brought in some weaker anchors (Leggett and Hess's, Proffitt's for a minute) but when those stores sold out to Dillard's and traffic began to pick up around the Midlothian-Huguenot intersection, the tides began to turn. When Sears and Penney's opened up, that sealed the deal.

I have to say (barring the construction of Watkins Centre) that when the dust settles, CTC will be the only relevant enclosed mall in the market. Regency is going downhill fast and Virginia Center Commons is likely reaching the peak of its potential right now.

Edited May 4, 2005 by StevenRocks

[wrldcoupe4]

Maybe I am being a little harsh about CTC.  It's never been a favorite of mine, but the mall isn't that bad in all honesty.  Any place with 95% occupancy can't be that bad.

They pulled off a major coup over the past decade.  Originally, CTC was the "other" mall back when it only had Miller & Rhoads and Cloverleaf was the king of the hill.  The '80s expansion brought in some weaker anchors (Leggett and Hess's, Proffitt's for a minute) but when those stores sold out to Dillard's and traffic began to pick up around the Midlothian-Huguenot intersection, the tides began to turn.  When Sears and Penney's opened up, that sealed the deal.

I have to say (barring the construction of Watkins Centre) that when the dust settles, CTC will be the only relevant enclosed mall in the market.  Regency is going downhill fast and Virginia Center Commons is likely reaching the peak of its potential right now.

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Regency is definitely having a difficult time given the new competition. Before the new upscales, it was the closest that Richmond had to that. now it's having to realign to stay alive.

As of right now, malls in the richmond area include for the most part: CTC, Regency, Willow Lawn, Virginia Center Commons, Short Pump, Stony Point, and Southpark. Cloverleaf is dead and fairfield commons is pretty much the same though henrico has revitalization plans. Is that a lot for a market of this size? I've always heard that Richmond has some of the highest retail per person in the country.

[StevenRocks]

Regency is definitely having a difficult time given the new competition. Before the new upscales, it was the closest that Richmond had to that. now it's having to realign to stay alive.

As of right now, malls in the richmond area include  for the most part: CTC, Regency, Willow Lawn, Virginia Center Commons, Short Pump, Stony Point, and Southpark. Cloverleaf is dead and fairfield commons is pretty much the same though henrico has revitalization plans. Is that a lot for a market of this size? I've always heard that Richmond has some of the highest retail per person in the country.

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It's sad to see Regency falter like it has. It actually was my favorite Richmond mall (though up until the latest renovation it felt like a mausoleum). I still have a resonable amount of affection for it. The department stores are still nice and I like the handful of upmarket stores that are still there.

It is true that Richmod is currently one of the most retailed cities in America in terms of square footage. What runs up the totals is all the additional retail in big box stores and neighborhood shopping centers in the market and not the regional malls necessarily, though Stony Point and Short Pump coming online at the same time distorted the numbers a lot.

For a market its size, Richmond has an average number of regional malls. Their spacing becomes an issue because most of them are clustered together rather closely. That clustering has led to the demise of Cloverleaf and will eventually lead to the redevelopment of both Regency and Willow Lawn, and CTC if Watkins Centre gets off the ground.

It wil help the statistical totals if Cloverleaf and Fairfield Commons go offline, because that's at least one unprodcutive retail square foot per capita distorting the local occupancy levels. Also the recent demolition of white elephants downtown have helped the totals. Growth is strong, so by the time things level out, Richmond's retail saturation will averege out.

[wrldcoupe4]

good news for retail as well from the advantis retail market report for 1stQ2005:

"You may have seen a battery company commercial that uses the catch phrase:

[StevenRocks]

Sounds like the West Broad Street corridor may still have some life in it yet!

[wrldcoupe4]

Whole Foods may be looking to expand into the richmond market....

Whole Foods?

Whole Foods Market, the nation's leading natural and organic grocer, is looking seriously at the Richmond area, sources say.

The Austin, Texas-based chain apparently has three sites under consideration -- on West Broad Street near Interstate 64 (on the former Liesfeld cattle farm across from Best Buy, Kohl's and Home Depot); in the Reynolds Crossing development near the Philip Morris USA headquarters; and on Hull Street Road near state Route 288.

Whole Foods has 169 stores, including one in Charlottesville and six in Northern Virginia.

This would the second time a chain tried the Richmond market. Fresh Fields, which is now owned by Whole Foods, had a store on West Broad Street in 1993 for less than nine months.

article

[StevenRocks]

Whole Foods is a great operator. They have a store in Charlottesville that I love to go to when I'm over that way.

Edited May 24, 2005 by StevenRocks

[wrldcoupe4]

I knew Carytown's uniqueness would leave it largely untouched by the new upscale malls in the area....this article proves it. Rental rates are even increasing in thriving Carytown. Best thing of all, is how few national retailers there are. It's mostly local entrepreneurs:

[url=http://styleweekly.com/article.asp?idarticle=10532]Short Pump Who? Nearly two years after mall attacks, Carytown is thriving

[wrldcoupe4]

I bet Carytown's pedestrian traffic is reminiscent of how Grace and Broad were 50-60 years ago...I hope we can get it back there too.

[burt]

I bet Carytown's pedestrian traffic is reminiscent of how Grace and Broad were 50-60 years ago...I hope we can get it back there too.

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Oh no, Coupe - Carytown pedestrian traffic, while fairly heavy, can't hold a candle to what it was like on Broad Street in the 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s. It was shoulder to shoulder on Broad and Grace streets. Wish I could direct you to some pictures of that era downtown; maybe Ryan has some in the archives.

[StevenRocks]

^Does anyone here remember what it ws like to shop at the old Miller & Rhoads and Thalhimers stores downtown (or Woolworth's and G.C. Murphy)? I was too young and too far away to get to see them when they were open.

[wrldcoupe4]

I was reallly little when Miller & Rhoads and Thalhimer's were open but when we would go to see the Legendary Santa, we would walk through them. They were huge department stores with great character. Don't wanna sound like a nerd here but I did see a really good PBS documentary on downtown Richmond from years gone by and there was a lot of emphasis on M&R and Thalhimers. They were absolutely beautiful inside.

Man I would kill to see that type of pedestrian traffic again. Real streetcars would be icing on the cake!

[burt]

Arf! Arf! Arf! According to Greg Gilligan's column in today's RTD, a swanky new doggie boutique has opened next to Dick's at Stoney Point Fashion Park. You'll find it on the business page. Read it for a good laugh.

link

Doggie Boutique

(This is my first time trying to put in a "link" vdogg. If I did it wrong, can you tell me how to do so in future? tnks.)

Well, I just added www, but that doesn't seem to highlight the link either. hmmmm.

Remember that you must enclose the address in the tags. If you hit the add reply button the post window will pop up. Look under the section that says code buttons at the top of the page and you will see a button that says http://. Click on that button and enter the title of the link and when prompted enter the address and these tags will automatically be inserted for you.

Edited June 20, 2005 by vdogg

[wrldcoupe4]

Ukrop's leads the Richmond market in both traditional grocers and 'any retailers selling groceries' categories in a recent study:

among all retailers selling groceries in the Richmond market: 22.41%, a very slight decline from 22.49% last year. Food-Lion followed in second, followed by Wal-Mart in 3rd.

Among traditional grocery retailers, Ukrop's gained slight market share rising to 40.16% from 39.72%. They anticipate performance to improve for next year's stats as the brand spankin new Forest Hill Ave. store opened this May.

Ukrop's 27 Richmond area stores generated $579.27 million in sales during the study period.

The study did not include Ukrop's stores in Fredericksburg and Williamsburg. The Williamsburg store is the company's fastest growing store, and they are building a second Williamsburg store scheduled to open next year. Ukrop's is also expanding into the Roanoke market next year.

Ukrop's has 27 Richmond area stores including Joe's Market. Food Lion has 47.

There is a TD article about this stuff: Study: Ukrop's tops Richmond market-share list

Edited June 22, 2005 by wrldcoupe4

[StevenRocks]

Ukrops deserves to be on top. They run a quality operation.

[wrldcoupe4]

Two new stores in Carytown:

Que Bella and Heidi Story....

Que Bella is a footwear boutique: "Que Bella, which originally opened up last winter on a Fan side street, offers an eclectic arrangement of fashion for your feet. Owner Heather Teachey just moved into a new, more spacious spot on Cary Street, where her fashionable finds tempt streetwalkers through the enormous windows.

Heidi Story "opened up her first shop in Brooklyn, New York, with the intention to offer attentive personal service and clothing and accessories by small New York and Los Angeles designers. Now, she aims to do the same in Carytown.

"I love New York but after 11 years there, I needed a change," said Story. "I was looking for something southern but urban, and I just fell in love with Carytown.""

I know nothing about the fashion world but she also attended Parson's School of Design.

Sounds like two great additions to Carytown. It would be nice if there were more stores targeting guys though.

[Downtowner]

I think Richmond City Would do great with the following Shops and restaurants

Circuit City

Best Buy

Dicks Sporting Goods

Brusters

BlockBuster

Unos Chicago Grill

Cheesecake Factory

[burt]

I think Richmond City Would do great with the following Shops and restaurants

Circuit City

Best Buy

Dicks Sporting Goods

Brusters

BlockBuster

Unos Chicago Grill

Cheesecake Factory

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Since most of these are already in Greater Richmond, I assume you are suggesting them for downtown as well?