Jump to content

The Summit


kayman

Recommended Posts

A Changing Summit

It is apparent that the center is reorganizing and still expanding. Here's what the article says that is coming:

*An Apple Store is in the final talks to opening a store. It almost got one a few years back but the space was too small

*Urban Outfitters is coming.

*White House/Black Market is moving to a bigger space

*Eddie Bauer is too, and it will become a prototype store

*Cache is coming

*Aldo Shoes is coming

*Coach is coming

*Levi's store is coming

*Sigrid Olsen, an upscale women designer store is coming

*There are plans to finish Phase IV, and land more upscale retailers

Many naysayers that the center is not upscale, but the owners Bayer discusses how it is more and more differentiating the center from a typical regional retail center. It also discussing why they filed the lawsuit against Saks and Belk over the Parisian space.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


  • Replies 81
  • Created
  • Last Reply

A Changing Summit

It is apparent that the center is reorganizing and still expanding. Here's what the article says that is coming:

*An Apple Store is in the final talks to opening a store. It almost got one a few years back but the space was too small

*Urban Outfitters is coming.

*White House/Black Market is moving to a bigger space

*Eddie Bauer is too, and it will become a prototype store

*Cache is coming

*Aldo Shoes is coming

*Coach is coming

*Levi's store is coming

*Sigrid Olsen, an upscale woman designer store is coming

*There are plans to finish Phase IV, and land more upscale retailers

Many naysayers that the center is not upscale, but the owners Bayer discusses how it is more and more differentiating the center from a typical regional retail center. It also discussing why they filed the lawsuit against Saks and Belk over the Parisian space.

Yea, I read that article, The Summit is definitely upscale. I'm always surprise whenever I drive through or by that place. It looks like it costs a few dollars just to look at it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I find The Summit's layout to be somewhat hit or miss. The Saks Fifth Avenue component is perhaps the most aesethetically appealing suburban retail space in Alabama. The open space festooned with fountains around Saks' entrance, combined with the architecture of the store, should be the template for designing spaces in lifestyle centers across the country. Everything within this space functions on a human scale. Another strong point is the overall architecture of the Summit and the natural setting of this shopping center. I don't really get the rationale for a Meditteranean architectural style in Birmingham, but in this setting, it actually works rather well. I also like the tower elements that landmark the ends of each buildings. The Summit is not without shortcomings, though. As I struggle to focus on the upscale storefronts in Phase I, I'm always aware of the hulking sea of parking just over my shoulder. Everything seems to be designed as if to engage the occupant of a speeding automobile. If Belk eventually occupies the Parisian space in this component, then they should introduce storefront windows along facades of the building.

The Summit is the strongest of the lifestyle centers designed in Alabama by CMH Architects, but their other centers feature some design element that The Summit could integrate into their design.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's what the article says that is coming:

*An Apple Store is in the final talks to opening a store. It almost got one a few years back but the space was too small

*Urban Outfitters is coming.

*White House/Black Market is moving to a bigger space

*Eddie Bauer is too, and it will become a prototype store

*Cache is coming

*Aldo Shoes is coming

*Coach is coming

*Levi's store is coming

*Sigrid Olsen, an upscale women designer store is coming

*There are plans to finish Phase IV, and land more upscale retailers

Wow- all these stores (except for Urban Outfitters) are also coming to Bridge Street. I was hoping Huntsville would get the first Apple Store in Alabama. :cry:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I find The Summit's layout to be somewhat hit or miss. The Saks Fifth Avenue component is perhaps the most aesethetically appealing suburban retail space in Alabama. The open space festooned with fountains around Saks' entrance, combined with the architecture of the store, should be the template for designing spaces in lifestyle centers across the country. Everything within this space functions on a human scale. Another strong point is the overall architecture of the Summit and the natural setting of this shopping center. I don't really get the rationale for a Meditteranean architectural style in Birmingham, but in this setting, it actually works rather well. I also like the tower elements that landmark the ends of each buildings. The Summit is not without shortcomings, though. As I struggle to focus on the upscale storefronts in Phase I, I'm always aware of the hulking sea of parking just over my shoulder. Everything seems to be designed as if to engage the occupant of a speeding automobile. If Belk eventually occupies the Parisian space in this component, then they should introduce storefront windows along facades of the building.

The Summit is the strongest of the lifestyle centers designed in Alabama by CMH Architects, but their other centers feature some design element that The Summit could integrate into their design.

Here's an excellent solution to the parking problem. Make large numbers of mass transit stations/stops at the center and build no extra parking. People would then be forced to take mass transit, and that would put people closer to growing on Mass Transit. Though, the only problem with this is that there isn't wide enough mass transit in the area.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I heard the lawsuit had been dropped from a fairly reliable source.

It was supposedly dropped within the same week that it was announced. I would assume the Summit used the suit as an attention-getter since it was publicly announced on a day when the Belk brothers were in town.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Insider:

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Apple posts Summit jobs on Web:

Apple Inc. has posted job openings for its Summit store on its Web site, unofficially confirming the technology giant will open a store in Birmingham.

Apple officials and a spokeswoman for Summit developer Bayer Properties declined to comment on the matter or confirm that Apple will open a store there. However, a posting for a general manager position lists the location as The Summit in Birmingham.

Apple is expected to open a 6,500-square-foot store this year and feature a "genius bar" where Mac experts can offer one-on-one advice, troubleshooting and tips. Shoppers also will find plenty of Macintosh computers and iPods in a location featuring the sleek design elements that have made other Apple stores shopping destinations.

The Summit was in negotiations with Apple several years ago, but the space available for the retailer was too small - by six inches. Sherri C. Goodman --

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Insider:

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Apple posts Summit jobs on Web:

Apple Inc. has posted job openings for its Summit store on its Web site, unofficially confirming the technology giant will open a store in Birmingham.

Apple officials and a spokeswoman for Summit developer Bayer Properties declined to comment on the matter or confirm that Apple will open a store there. However, a posting for a general manager position lists the location as The Summit in Birmingham.

Apple is expected to open a 6,500-square-foot store this year and feature a "genius bar" where Mac experts can offer one-on-one advice, troubleshooting and tips. Shoppers also will find plenty of Macintosh computers and iPods in a location featuring the sleek design elements that have made other Apple stores shopping destinations.

The Summit was in negotiations with Apple several years ago, but the space available for the retailer was too small - by six inches. Sherri C. Goodman --

Apple opens it's first Alabama store this weekend, April 14, at the Summit.

A Huntsville store is scheduled to open this fall

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Looks like Belk will be making their Summit location a flagship store (much like their flagship store at SouthPark Mall in Charlotte). They will be taking over the old Parisians at the Summit and spend $10M upgrading and expanding it by 50,000sqft to create a total store square footage of around 170,000 square feet. Belk says this flagship store will also carry clothes by high-end designers such as Hickey Freeman, Kate Spade, Elie Tahari, Adrianna Papell, Michael Kors, Lilly Pulitzer and LaCoste.

I'm not happy about the loss of Parisians either, but at least they're seeking to make this location one of their flagship stores. In fact, I think this would only be their 3rd flagship store. There's the one in Charlotte and now they're planning to turn both this one and another in Atlanta into "flagship" stores as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I beckon the question as to what will happen to the Brookwood and Riverchase Parisian stores? Both of them are upper-end top notch locations also? Belk better not pull one of those dual store deals at Riverchase because that property is way to valuable to be shortchanged like that so that they can hold on to 2 parcels at the center.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Am I correct, The Summit is going to do a Phase 5, right? If they do, what are some retailers that would do well in the Birmingham area? I saw on The Summit's store directory a section called "Future" and it looks as if it can support about 7-10 stores http://www.thesummitonline.com/birmingham/...reDirectory.pdf. I personally think some of these unique stores would be awesome such as Lacoste(I am not rich but I love their shirts),Guess(my favorite),Gucci (even if just a luggage store) Ralph Lauren, L'Occitane, Solstice, Lindt Chocolate, and Steve Madden or Cole Haan. I am suprised that Birmingham doen't have stores(that many other cities have) like L'Occitane, Guess, Cole Haan, etc. I have made a few proposals--Riverchase Galleria needs to either turn the old McRaes into Dillard's or Nordstroms, or either tear it down and make a new 2 level wing to accomodate new stores new to the area. I wish Century Plaza could get their act together and help the other malls lure more of the same and new retailers to the area. I honestly thought that The Pinnacle at Tutwiler Farms was going to be something a little larger with stores new to the area, but it is still a nice center. There is no room for Brookwood Village Mall to expand unless they were to do like some other malls and build an additional wing on the other side of Macy's. Birmingham has enough malls that could be expanded and redeveloped; they should not build anymore malls until the current malls have reached their potential and until the market demands it, although Downtown Birmingham could use some retail or some near Forest Park/Highland/UAB/Southside.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

downtown won't get retail on a large scale until it gets a substantial population with disposable income. i want to see that happen. i think, over time (much time), it will.

right now, it seems that all the people who want to live downtown - people who would spend their money at potential downtown grocery stores and clothiers, etc. - are too poor to afford the cost of living there. i am certainly among that number. i can afford to live in an apartment somewhere in the highland avenue area (and have done so in the past and loved it), but the cost of rents / mortgages downtown puts that area out of my range.

i wish bham had a 'warehouse district' somewhere near downtown, as so many other cities have, that affords weirdos and beatniks and dorks like me the chance to live very close to the DT without paying condo prices. if such an area exists in bham, i'm not aware of it. that's why places like highland ave. and glen iris have always appealed to me - they're the next best thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Am I correct, The Summit is going to do a Phase 5, right? If they do, what are some retailers that would do well in the Birmingham area? I saw on The Summit's store directory a section called "Future" and it looks as if it can support about 7-10 stores http://www.thesummitonline.com/birmingham/...reDirectory.pdf. I personally think some of these unique stores would be awesome such as Lacoste(I am not rich but I love their shirts),Guess(my favorite),Gucci (even if just a luggage store) Ralph Lauren, L'Occitane, Solstice, Lindt Chocolate, and Steve Madden or Cole Haan. I am suprised that Birmingham doen't have stores(that many other cities have) like L'Occitane, Guess, Cole Haan, etc. I have made a few proposals--Riverchase Galleria needs to either turn the old McRaes into Dillard's or Nordstroms, or either tear it down and make a new 2 level wing to accomodate new stores new to the area. I wish Century Plaza could get their act together and help the other malls lure more of the same and new retailers to the area. I honestly thought that The Pinnacle at Tutwiler Farms was going to be something a little larger with stores new to the area, but it is still a nice center. There is no room for Brookwood Village Mall to expand unless they were to do like some other malls and build an additional wing on the other side of Macy's. Birmingham has enough malls that could be expanded and redeveloped; they should not build anymore malls until the current malls have reached their potential and until the market demands it, although Downtown Birmingham could use some retail or some near Forest Park/Highland/UAB/Southside.

The Summit does have a proposal for another phase, but it is up in the air if it will be retail, office, hotel, or mixed-use. Bayer Properties, the center's owner, wanted to continue to weed out the mainstream 'every major retail center' tenants. Their long term plans does include more upscale and flagship-like locations for more upper end retailers (see Eddie Bauer Summit store for example).

Brookwood will likely continue to go upper-end also, but I think their on-going issue is going to be the Belk there. Colonial also has plans to keep the center as one of the few retail centers after it finish divest on it other properties. This will allow them to focus on these plans. Riverchase, I dunno. They should open a Dillard's or Nordstrom, but Nordstrom is still acting skiddish on opening here for whatever reason. Dillard's, to my knowledge, still in has to comply with its non-compete it has with Macy's in this market. However, who knows, they might decide to forth it or break and finally open a store in the market.

downtown won't get retail on a large scale until it gets a substantial population with disposable income. i want to see that happen. i think, over time (much time), it will.

right now, it seems that all the people who want to live downtown - people who would spend their money at potential downtown grocery stores and clothiers, etc. - are too poor to afford the cost of living there. i am certainly among that number. i can afford to live in an apartment somewhere in the highland avenue area (and have done so in the past and loved it), but the cost of rents / mortgages downtown puts that area out of my range.

i wish bham had a 'warehouse district' somewhere near downtown, as so many other cities have, that affords weirdos and beatniks and dorks like me the chance to live very close to the DT without paying condo prices. if such an area exists in bham, i'm not aware of it. that's why places like highland ave. and glen iris have always appealed to me - they're the next best thing.

Well convulso, there is Park Place. It is on the eastern edge of Downtown, and it is fair price. On the retail, with the number of new residents increasing annually, if they continue to build it then retailers are bound to come. We'll likely wind up with some like Peabody Place in Memphis or Fourth Street Live! in Louisville downtown for retail/entertainment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well convulso, there is Park Place. It is on the eastern edge of Downtown, and it is fair price.

lol - park place is too nice for me! i'm very glad it's there; a lot of people are surprised when they get close and see how nice it is. but a planned development is not really what i have in mind - more like abandoned buildings in an area that hasn't yet been scooped up by high-end condo developers. hmmm...maybe there's plenty of that in titusville. that would still be a little too far from DT for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

downtown won't get retail on a large scale until it gets a substantial population with disposable income. i want to see that happen. i think, over time (much time), it will.

right now, it seems that all the people who want to live downtown - people who would spend their money at potential downtown grocery stores and clothiers, etc. - are too poor to afford the cost of living there. i am certainly among that number. i can afford to live in an apartment somewhere in the highland avenue area (and have done so in the past and loved it), but the cost of rents / mortgages downtown puts that area out of my range.

i wish bham had a 'warehouse district' somewhere near downtown, as so many other cities have, that affords weirdos and beatniks and dorks like me the chance to live very close to the DT without paying condo prices. if such an area exists in bham, i'm not aware of it. that's why places like highland ave. and glen iris have always appealed to me - they're the next best thing.

THAT ALTERNATIVE PLACE WOULD BE AVONDALE. Come check it out!! I bought my house for 50k two yrs. ago, and values are still that good...the caveat is sweat equity, though, and LOTS of it!! Still, 12 blocks- or 5 minutes- from downtown or UAB is well worth the struggle to renovate that 90+ year-old house.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

THAT ALTERNATIVE PLACE WOULD BE AVONDALE. Come check it out!! I bought my house for 50k two yrs. ago, and values are still that good...the caveat is sweat equity, though, and LOTS of it!! Still, 12 blocks- or 5 minutes- from downtown or UAB is well worth the struggle to renovate that 90+ year-old house.

Wow... just 50k?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow... just 50k?

Absolutely! There's still some great houses on my street (2nd ave. s.) in that range, if not less. Those are in good shape, if you don't mind section-8 neighbors.

To be perfectly frank, the neighborhood is amazingly quiet, and could transition very rapidly to be more like Southside. I totally love it, and I grew up in Vestavia. The young family directly in front of me come from Shelby County and East Germany respectively.

I work at Eastwood Festival, and it takes me 7 minutes to get here. Plus, I have a pretty sweet view of downtown from my garden/backyard.

I'd LOVE to give everyone in this forum a tour!!!

Wow... just 50k?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

i like avondale. it's been a couple of years since i ventured that far east, but it was already undergoing improvement, house-by-house, at that time.

i do think it's probably the closest thing to what i'm wanting, in terms of proximity and affordability.

what i'd really like is an area like the warehouse district in new orleans (or at least what it was 15 or so years ago) - which is very close to both the CBD and the quarter, is comprised of older, formerly abandoned, commercial buildings, and for a number of years was affordable to the poor beatnik types who want to live in the middle of things but can't afford to buy lofts. that's changed (or shifted, rather, to the area east of the quarter, around frenchman st.)...now the warehouse district is a little trendy and a little expensive...but if you got in during that golden period when only the sketchy poor artsy people (i.e., the city's 'creative' class) wanted to live there, you'd be thanking yourself now.

avondale is probably my favorite of the bham neighborhoods currently in the process of rebirth. i have come to like forest park and bessemer (which i had shunned for a long time until recently visiting) as well, but those areas are obviously not as close to downtown as avondale.

i especially appreciate your enthusiasm, highlandtodd, for the neighborhood in which you live. you are the type of resident who ought to be living there, because you believe in the community and have an emotional stake in its prosperity. i want more such people to move to these areas near the central city - people who want to be there and boost it to potential residents. grassroots goes a long way in a city where the leadership treads water.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Summit, theater at odds over renovation

It seems that Bayer Properties is continuing doing what I learned from a reliable source they planned to do along with The Summit. They are trying to force out all the "typical" mall tenants including the theater there. There is currently a lawsuit between Bayer and Eastwynn, Carmike's parent company, over the quality of the theater.

I'm betting that Bayer plans to bring in a Rave theater or another major upper-end retailer for that space.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.