Street Level Retail in Downtown Charlotte

[dubone]

Sheesh. One October Saturday without the pedestrian levels acceptable to visitors from afar and suddenly uptown isn't thriving.

[monsoon]

Sheesh. One October Saturday without the pedestrian levels acceptable to visitors from afar and suddenly uptown isn't thriving.

[browngeo]

I agree Metro...nothing personal across the board...

I think Charlotte is an interesting city that has fertile ground for developers and it will eventually construct the urban landscape that this board is so desperately wanting. This city has way more going for it than anyone can imagine. We will get to the next level, it's just a matter of time. HALF GLASS FULL Trademark + Avenue + Warehouse + Light Rail Development + 3rd WARD Park (4 acres or 8 acres) + Metro + Furman will slowly increase density..you won't see as many people walking around as you want in the next 2-3 years but we are headed in the right direction and I am proud to be living in this awesome City. Once Barnes and Noble, Bananna, H&M and whaterever else retail hit the town..it's all over..

GO CHARLOTTE BABY

[uptownliving]

Since I moved back downtown 3 years ago there are noticably more people walking the streets and there is more stuff to do. Downtown is moving in the right direction and the momentum is picking up. However downtown Charlotte doesn't have the charm or allure of downtown Asheville and quite frankly it probably never will.

As more and more people move to downtown Charlotte...and all these condo towers under construction fill up with people then more and more retail is going to open up. I think the things that the city are doing are the right things to make this a better place to live. Yes, there are always going to be more and better things that the city can do, we can't do everything at one time. It is going to be a long term process to build the retail environment up.

[uptownliving]

I took this picture on a Saturday earlier this year. There were no special events going on downtown that afternoon...just an average Saturday. This level of street activity is what I have seen all summer long...I am sure it will die down now that it is getting cooler out.

[monsoon]

Yes that is in the one section of Tryon that I referred to earlier. Again the proof is in the pudding. It's the only part of downtown that come closest to the the designs detailed in the first post of this thread.

[krazeeboi]

I took this picture on a Saturday earlier this year. There were no special events going on downtown that afternoon...just an average Saturday.

[mallguy]

I read a book a while back called "Downtown"- why downtowns were built originally and why they died. I recall that the book stated that the largest generator of traffic in a downtown area, for the building's size, at least in the mid-20th century, was a department store. Since uptown Charlotte doesn't have large department stores anymore (sorry, that Belk's is a glorified convenience store), having Belk's and Ivey's lose sales and then close must have led to material reductions in uptown street traffic.

I thus think that focusing on large retail destinations would really help uptown generate street traffic. Since Target is basically this era's "department store", the Midtown development should generate a good amount of traffic, and hopefully some spillover from that will go uptown, and I'd hope that city leaders would also focus on bringing other big-box retailers inside the I-277 loop.

[voyager12]

One part of Uptown that I think should be replicated and improved upon is Gateway Village. Along Trade and the cross streets there are a few cafe's that do a good lunch business during the week with decent foot traffic. I don't see why that model can't be expanded upon in other parts of the city and place a late night dessert place, coffeehouse or bookstore on the groundfloor of these new condo projects. These businesses could schedule nightly events to garner a following from nearby residents. I think most people enjoy walking through Gateway Village because its pedestrian friendly and there are actually a few storefronts to look at and that's what we need more of. From the skeletons of the towers going up I don't see this groundfloor component being included. The builders are too obsessed with trying imitate Manhattan by enclosing the ground floor with a fancy empty lobby and a doorman instead of making it an accessible retail spot. We are not New York and never will be but I guess pathetic pretense is what the marketing studies told them would sell units.

[monsoon]

To be fair, the AKA convention was in town that weekend (as the sista in the all white with the pink and green bag so aptly demonstrates), but I think it would be safe to assume that she was the only attendee in that shot.

[uptownliving]

I think that if anything downtown should be replicated it is the section of N Tryon from Trade to 7th St. Which is where I took my picture. I think we will see S Tryon start to get more pedestrian activity as the new condos and restarants open up along with the new Wachovia compound to act as an anchor.

[uptownliving]

To be fair, the AKA convention was in town that weekend (as the sista in the all white with the pink and green bag so aptly demonstrates), but I think it would be safe to assume that she was the only attendee in that shot.

[monsoon]

I took this picture on a Saturday earlier this year. There were no special events going on downtown that afternoon...just an average Saturday. ...

[brianc]

Just heard on News 14, that Tiffanys at South Park Mall will open a location for Christmas uptown on Tryon beside Emerson Josephs 200 block of S. Tryon. It will be open starting in Nov thru Dec for holidays only

[sleightofhand]

^Well, that's better than nothing.

We've simply have to get more people uptown before there will be any retail. And I mean alot more retail. Hopefully with all the condos coming it will help but we'll still need more.

I spoke with one of the head guys at Crosland who specializes in retail. He said the thought it would be another 10-20 years before we saw any significant retail. He believes that eventually most of the buildings on Tryon would turn there first floor lobbies into large retail stores. He said they were already in discussions.

TFWIW.

[voyager12]

"10 to 20 years" That is not too long. I am sure we can keep this thread going with some ideas to put into action by then...

[Mobuchu]

It was not acceptable to me either nor the million or so others that live in this area that don't think of downtown as anything more than a work location or possibly a place to get drunk. In my book downtown isn't triving and it doesn't have the streetlive that it had 28 years ago when I moved here.

I think that if anything is to be done about downtown, people first have to be willing to discuss it without taking it personally.

[voyager12]

I do hope members of the insular Uptown elite read this thread. Hopefully it will stir some activity in the right direction. There needs to be more public forums for Charlotteans to give feedback regarding the direction we want Uptown to go in. Power should not be held in a top down fashion, but this is a very corporate town so I guess this type of control is natural. Personally, I have no respect for Center City Partners. They are supposed to act as a catalyst and advocacy group to bring new business and people to Uptown. But they don't want all kinds of people. Charlotte Pride was held at Gateway Village this past year and had great success. I went by the Center City Partner's website to find the time for the event a few days ahead and there was no mention of it. The Farmer's Market was listed for the same date and a Floral Show. I emailed Michael Smith and Moira Quinn to ask politely and firmly about this "oversight". Heard nothing back either one of them. I contacted Creative Loafing's Karen Shugart who does a great job of covering gay Charlotte she got right back to me and investigated and then mentioned in her article about Pride that she received no response either. How are we supposed to attract a wide range of people to new establishments in Uptown when a large portion of the government and private power structure are prejudiced against minorities?

[krazeeboi]

Yep it was the weekend of the AKA convention, but to be fair, there is a convention going on most weekends in Charlotte now, and most convention attendees stick around the convention center which is 6 blocks away from where this pic was taken.

[Walker Evans]

In regards to creating a pedestrian-friendly vibe around the arena, perhaps Charlotte could take some cues from Columbus, OH--they have a successful arena district that ensures pedestrian activity even when no events are going on at the arena.

[uptownliving]

Personally, I have no respect for Center City Partners. They are supposed to act as a catalyst and advocacy group to bring new business and people to Uptown. But they don't want all kinds of people. Charlotte Pride was held at Gateway Village this past year and had great success. I went by the Center City Partner's website to find the time for the event a few days ahead and there was no mention of it. The Farmer's Market was listed for the same date and a Floral Show. I emailed Michael Smith and Moira Quinn to ask politely and firmly about this "oversight". Heard nothing back either one of them. I contacted Creative Loafing's Karen Shugart who does a great job of covering gay Charlotte she got right back to me and investigated and then mentioned in her article about Pride that she received no response either. How are we supposed to attract a wide range of people to new establishments in Uptown when a large portion of the government and private power structure are prejudiced against minorities?

[monsoon]

So is that your point? It is not as active as it was 28yrs ago? Well thank you for that bit of info, but it does nothing to add to UP. We cant change what has happened in the past. Department stores left, downtowns accross the nation dried up, and suburban thinking took over. We now have development and change happening uptown that many cities would be envious of......

[monsoon]

I spoke with one of the head guys at Crosland who specializes in retail. He said the thought it would be another 10-20 years before we saw any significant retail. He believes that eventually most of the buildings on Tryon would turn there first floor lobbies into large retail stores. He said they were already in discussions.

TFWIW.

[voyager12]

Thank you for the additional information Uptownliving. Perhaps these two leaders of the organization are so busy they forgot about this year's event which was publicized in the media. And when they read my email they were embarassed and felt like they had no answer. But when I did not even get an acknowledgement back and a reporter gets nowhere, what else am I supposed to think? Either way its insulting and illustrative of the perception that Uptown is not open to cultural diversity which is key to flourishing downtowns. That said, Tiffany's seasonal presence makes sense considering the demographic of Charlotte's business district. I have also seen Brookstone open seasonal stores in other cities. The guy from Crosland is apparently an expert in his field so I tend to believe what he says. I do hope we can get at least a streelevel bookstore that could act as a neighborhood hub in Uptown in less than a decade

[mallguy]

Does anyone have any sales figures for uptown retailers or even any insights as to how much sales have grown or declined in recent years?

I'd think that uptown residents, unless they also work in a building connected to the Overstreet Mall, would be much more likely to shop in a store at street level than at one in the Overstreet Mall. I'd also think that all of the new commercial and residential construction uptown should lead to higher retail sales, but especially at street level, as the only people in the Overstreet Mall seem to be office workers, and employment uptown doesn't seem to be increasing much. Is this reasoning correct? If so, if stores follow dollars and people, more street level retail should follow.