Quote:
Originally Posted by jhausner
The Park Place retail was much larger in the past but Concord scaled it back because of lack of demand. People on these forums jump up and down constantly about how Surrey needs more shops, but getting new shops isn't as easy as just building more spaces. You have to actually have businesses willing to move in and lease/buy the space. You also need to have a good assortment of shops or else you get full spaces with 5 hair salons, 2 nail shops, a smoke shop/grocery store, and fast food joint which isn't really ideal for building "atmosphere."
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Also worth noting that Plaza 88 is still quite empty, from a retail perspective. Other than some major players (Starbucks, Fresh Slice, Safeway), I'm not sure some of the businesses that are there are going to make it.
It's also worth noting that many tower developments even in downtown Vancouver have retail spaces that remain empty long after the tower has filled with residents. It takes months and years for a community to develop. However many now have successful retail components, it just took time to develop, and the foresight to build those retail elements into the design (I'm assuming this was a city requirement at the time of design).