[fastcarsfreedom]

Agreed BCTed, and important to note that at one time--until the early/mid 1990s, almost every imaginable chain doing retail trade in this country was in the complex. The downward spiral was what I would refer to a "perfect storm" of overbuiding retail capacity in the core, increased competition from other locales in the region, shifting demographics and a protracted recession in the early 1990s which pegged off a number of established chains and drove others to trim lesser-performing stores from their rosters. Remember--downtown's hours have always been lesser compared to the suburbs (even at it's peak, 9pm hours were only T & F and Sundays were always half-open/half-closed--so even a store doing a brisk business downtown would have lower revenues based on reduced hours.

We've discussed this ad nauseum here of course--the simple truth is that reaching a critical mass of residents downtown (as in, people with money who want seersucker shirts and Speery Topsiders) is key to reviving retail--inside and outside the mall. The HCC, Sheraton and office towers are a great place to start--that's built-in clientele--getting more people living locally and shopping downtown is really the keystone. Important to note, many retailers up and left over the years--and corporations do have some "memory"--so there is the added hurdle of convincing someone who already left to invest and come back.