Quote:
Originally Posted by PDG91
No, no one wants to go to just one single residential building off to the side for just retail alone when they can just go to the main attraction (which is the Pearl) and shop, eat, relax, etc. People want to be where the action is.
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I routinely go to the GS1221 bar which is "one single residential building off to the side just for retail alone", because it's a relaxing neighborhood bar, usually not crowded, and is mostly locals and friends. Anecdotal evidence, but worth stating. Brown Coffee at 1800 Broadway is the same thing--it's in "one residential building off to the side for just retail alone", and it's always busy.
There's a benefit to having more options for retail and the opportunity to bar and restaurant hop--it's why people in Austin are willing to pay for an Uber ride to go Downtown, because if one place isn't a good scene, there are 40 others they can walk to instead. More options are a good thing, because it means people will have that much more to do when they go to the Pearl and it makes it worth their while.
I was very surprised that Silver Ventures did not include ground floor retail at these apartments--the city leaders should really start requiring ground floor retail if they're going to be giving out incentives (I'm just assuming they're going to ask for incentives at this one). Incentives have been wonderful for kickstarting development in the Pearl area, but it's 2017 and we should be asking for more if taxpayers are going to be shouldering the burden for luxury apartments with no benefit to the neighborhood other than bodies driving in and out of it to work. If we truly want a community in this Midtown area, we have to give people places to go and gather outside of the heart of the Pearl.