Quote:
Originally Posted by necropolis
I believe Rivercenter is in dire need of a transformation. The city has grown immensely this past decade and though downtown has had less growth it is still the center of the city (in terms of how donwtowns are recognized). With the transformation of Hemisfair gaining traction I believe rivercenter would best be suited for how the older plans were...bringing in nightlife, restaurants, and flair for the tourists and local alike. This new plan, if true, seems to cater more to the tourists as far as aligning much of the mall with the hotel in terms of ballrooms and meeting space. I would love to see high end retail come to downtown, but I do not think now is the time. I think first we should develop to attract people, namely locals, downtown and when things become established then we can pursue high end retail and shops.
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Exactly my thoughts; I think that with Ashkenazy's (the current) redevelopment plan, we could get a bit of a 2-for-1 (minus extra ballroom/meeting space.) If all the phases get built, and that includes the possible unnamed "high-end" hotel that would sit on Commerce, then that could also bring in some higher-end stores when the right kind of foot-traffic is around. This could eventually push out some of the existing stores to the street and possibly coincide with and provide some tenants for some mixed-used projects that hopefully get moving in the next few years. All of this and some added entertainment and we could finally have a DT that could get enough interest from locals to be seen as a "location."
This new plan (Marriotts plan) could attract a new market to DT and sort of turn it into a higher-end destination, although I don't think that a few stores will do that. La Cantera is convenient enough to the resorts that people more than likely wouldn't venture down to DT specifically for shopping. **With these plans though, and the high number of hotels that Marriott has DT (including 2 still under construction,) it could be trying to achieve a complete takeover of DT and create a "village" (see:
Hilton Hawaiian Village.) If we get a Texas-style luau performance at Hemifair Park, it could finally get some good use. Instead of a roasted pig and poi, we could serve barbacoa and migas.**
**indicates sarcastic tone and an attempt to be funny**