Retail in Richmond

[journiyin]

Roanoke's Market area is a good example of the potential a new or renovated public market in Richmond could have.

Especially with the timing and restuarants and bars in the area.

[burt]

Bass Pro Shop IS on the horizon at I-95 and Lewistown Road with opening planned in 2008.

Meanwhile, this week's column by Greg Gilligan in today's inRich announces the opening of Gander Mountain also on I-95 not far from another locally-owned sports store. I hope this proliferation of sports stores retailing guns does NOT make it easy for scoundrels to purchase them.

The column also confirms nhughes' report of a Silver Dollar Diner at the corner of Cox Road and West Broad in the area highlighted by Tommy (TBurban) on his aerial map in Suburban Development thread.

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/busines...10-08-0041.html

Edited October 8, 2007 by burt

[nhughes]

Bass Pro Shop IS on the horizon at I-95 and Lewistown Road with opening planned in 2008.

Meanwhile, this week's column by Greg Gilligan in today's inRich announces the opening of Gander Mountain also on I-95 not far from another locally-owned sports store. I hope this proliferation of sports stores retailing guns does NOT make it easy for scoundrels to purchase them.

The column also confirms nhughes' report of a Silver Dollar Diner at the corner of Cox Road and West Broad in the area highlighted by Tommy (TBurban) on his aerial map in Suburban Development thread.

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/busines...10-08-0041.html

Thanks for the confirmation, burt! Glad to hear my memory still has its shining moments.

[journiyin]

Bass Pro Shop IS on the horizon at I-95 and Lewistown Road with opening planned in 2008.

Meanwhile, this week's column by Greg Gilligan in today's inRich announces the opening of Gander Mountain also on I-95 not far from another locally-owned sports store. I hope this proliferation of sports stores retailing guns does NOT make it easy for scoundrels to purchase them.

The column also confirms nhughes' report of a Silver Dollar Diner at the corner of Cox Road and West Broad in the area highlighted by Tommy (TBurban) on his aerial map in Suburban Development thread.

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/busines...10-08-0041.html

Oh if we could only get that diner to go closer to downtown... it has all the classics. I will gladly dish rave reviews about that place once it opens. (I have desired one here for ages, seeing as how I used to practically live in the one in Virginia Beach)

[jbjust]

What's wrong with River City Diner in the bottom? Better that than a chain.

[burt]

Tommy Bahama opens shop at SPTC and other interesting items from Greg Gilligan's column in yesterday's RTD:

http://www.timesdispatch.com/cva/ric/news/...10-15-0046.html

[burt]

According to Greg Gilligan's column in today's RTD, a second Fresh Market will open in Metro Richmond. It will occupy about 31,000 s/f on Hiugenot Road across from Chesterfield Town Center in the building now containing Barnes & Noble. The book store will move to a 36,000 s/f store in the CTC where the cinemas formerly operated.

[wrldcoupe4]

I'm glad to see investment still occurring near CTC in spite of the lameness of Watkins Centre.

[jbjust]

That is outstanding news about the Fresh Market. I still think that there is just too much of a critical mass around CTC for it to be abandoned for Watkins Center. I've heard lots of rumors of a Costco going in between Lowes and CTC, which would further solidify that area as a center of gravity.

[wrldcoupe4]

The Woodlands Marketplace project where Costco was proposed now seems to be "For Sale."

If Target and Kohl's or JC Penney were to hop westward, those would be huge gaps to fill in the CTC market.

[StevenRocks]

JCPenney is unlikely to move. Their store's practically brand-new.

[jbjust]

I wasn't clear whether he was talking about a JC Penny store or their corporate offices near the new Goodwill.

[wrldcoupe4]

I agree Steven... but news reports say that Kohl's and JC Penney are vying for the remaining dept store anchor location after Boscov's. It doesn't seem likely that JC Penney would open a new store, keep the one at CTC, and build a freestanding store along the Hull St corridor across from Woodlake.

The troubling thing for me is that Kohl's and Target are adjacent to one another across from CTC. It's been rumored that Target is looking to open a store at Watkins. If Kohl's opened one as well... does it seem unlikely that they would keep these stores open a mere 4-5 miles away?

At least Chipotle has opened in an outparcel at CTC!

[StevenRocks]

I agree Steven... but news reports say that Kohl's and JC Penney are vying for the remaining dept store anchor location after Boscov's. It doesn't seem likely that JC Penney would open a new store, keep the one at CTC, and build a freestanding store along the Hull St corridor across from Woodlake.

The troubling thing for me is that Kohl's and Target are adjacent to one another across from CTC. It's been rumored that Target is looking to open a store at Watkins. If Kohl's opened one as well... does it seem unlikely that they would keep these stores open a mere 4-5 miles away?

I think the Woodlake JCPenney store will open, but Watkins won't. Usually JCPenney likes to have at least about ten minutes driving distance between stores, from what I can tell. The only scenario I see them leaving CTC for Watkins is if Dillard's or Macy's rebuilds at CTC and displaces them.

Now Kohl's and Target I can see at Watkins. Their respective real estate departments don't have issues with locating stores practically next door to one another, even if it means cannibalizing sales from each.

[wrldcoupe4]

...And with an already vacant anchor location at CTC, it's unlikely that JC Penney would be displaced by the other anchors.

[Icetera]

I agree Steven... but news reports say that Kohl's and JC Penney are vying for the remaining dept store anchor location after Boscov's. It doesn't seem likely that JC Penney would open a new store, keep the one at CTC, and build a freestanding store along the Hull St corridor across from Woodlake.

The troubling thing for me is that Kohl's and Target are adjacent to one another across from CTC. It's been rumored that Target is looking to open a store at Watkins. If Kohl's opened one as well... does it seem unlikely that they would keep these stores open a mere 4-5 miles away?

At least Chipotle has opened in an outparcel at CTC!

Home Depot keeps a location in both vacinities without a problem. I have no doubt that Target would be fine with the same strategy. I am not sure on Kohl's, though, as I do not know their traffic.

[wrldcoupe4]

Home Depot doesn't have a location near Watkins Centre. Are you referring to the Home Depot at 360 and 288? If so, there is also a Kohl's and Target at the same intersection. Is there going to be enough support for three Targets/kohl's so close to one another?

[StevenRocks]

Is there going to be enough support for three Targets/kohl's so close to one another?

No. Eventually something's going to shake out in the mid-priced/discount sector. Target and Kohl's are doing okay because they have a mostly new network of stores, but with the economy slowing and good retail sites becoming harder to find, they can't keep trending upward. Edited October 26, 2007 by StevenRocks

[burt]

From Geg Gilligan's cloumn in today's RTD, it is strongly hinted that the area's second Coldwater Creek store will open in the Macy's wing of Chesterfield Town Center.

Coldwater Creek has operated a store at Short Pump Town Center for some time.

[burt]

Here's an opinion piece by Brian Glass about the retail situation in Metro Richmond. Any comments, Steven Rock and others:

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/busines...11-05-0045.html

[Cadeho]

Too much in Short Pump and Midlothian... the spaces at Fairfield Commons are laughable... they should just demolish it all and start over. The new tenants outside the old Sears building are some of "those" places that I'm not proud to see. The Sears building itself was transformed into a giant self-service, drive thru storage place... hardly real retail...

[StevenRocks]

Here's an opinion piece by Brian Glass about the retail situation in Metro Richmond. Any comments, Steven Rock and others:

http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news/busines...11-05-0045.html

Glass is pretty much spot-on. Most of the square footage growth is propelled by retailers that base their livelihood on opening new stores rather than growing sales at existing stores. It's a little disturbing that they're more willing to make each location of their own stores less valuable just to dominate overall while at the same time killing off the 'mom and pops' in the way.

But it's not a unusually Richmond solution. Most every city of similar size and income level is having the same explosion of new space.

The main thing to learn here is that smart retail developers should be careful to not base their livelihood and best locations on tenants that only want to come in, steal market share and leave an empty box that nobody wants behind. They should also learn that keeping projects inflexible as many have been in the past simply does not work in modern retailing. In time, you end up with empty space and nothing more.

[Cadeho]

If that means Saxon Shoes made the wrong decision to follow the Joneses... hopefully they'll learn and one day return downtown... where were they Burt? Around 4th St? I remember the Patterson and Libbie store when I was little... all they've done was move west and follow instead of lead.

[StevenRocks]

Saxon did what it had to do. That customer previously shopped qt Regency, now she shops at Short Pump.

[jbjust]

I would like to just see the local Richmond-based retailers take a couple of blocks on Broad street and make a go of it. I can just see a flagship Circuit City store (which includes a consumer electronics museum to attract traffic from the convention-goers) beside a more upscale and trendy Saxon shoes beside a new Schwartzschild downtown. Heck, CarMax could even take a couple of storefronts downtown like some of the luxury car dealerships do in mid-town Manhattan. Beside all of that could be a new, smaller Ukrops that would cater to the folks in the Jackson Ward area.

I can dream can't I?