Quote:
Originally Posted by ardecila
Roosevelt Road attracts Black/brown shoppers from the South and West Sides (especially West) much more so than North/Clybourn, and prevents their sales tax dollars from being lost to the suburbs.
There is a long tradition of Black shoppers visiting Roosevelt Road, dating back to the days when it was largely a Jewish-owned shopping district around Maxwell St and people arrived by streetcar. This is despite the fact that the Roosevelt district is quite far from, say, North Lawndale or Auburn-Gresham.
Roosevelt is ALSO perfectly positioned to capture wealthier shoppers from gentrified areas like South Loop, West Loop, and Little Italy/Tri-Taylor, so national retailers are very comfortable opening there because the trade area demographics are strong. It's really a way for the city to address the retail needs of two very different communities at once. Letting in residential or mixed-use would complicate the continued development of the area as a regional shopping district... right now there are zero residents nearby to complain about semi truck deliveries or increased traffic.
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Okay, I understand; I think you are correct about meeting the needs of different demographics, but I was not factoring in how living in a neighborhood that may be a retail desert would necessitate traveling further out for shopping needs. I admit I was ignorant in that regard about your initial comment.