Quote:
Originally Posted by eixample
I walked through yesterday and you could see that it was not just drawing from Center City residents but rather from people all over the city. It was a great multicultural cross section of what Philly is today, lots of families, teens, non-family adults. I think PREIT's concern is that Center City-ites get turned off and it only draws from non-Center City residents which could turn into a negative stereotype feedback loop that it is only the mall for 'them'. I think there will be plenty of people to go here (as long as it's kept safe, attractive and has things to draw people): residents from any part of the city with good rail or bus access, center city workers, tourists, conventioneers.
I am not a mall or shopping person but coming in with low expectations I was impressed. I will definitely try to partake it as much as possible. I was also a little let down by the food options, but I really liked the underground access to the transit lines (El, Patco plus Jefferson Station).
I don't get the complaints about the video screens. People actually want streaming video facing Market Street? Isn't that a safety hazard?
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I honestly doubt much of PREITS plan revolves around CC residents doing tons of shopping there. Money is money, I'm not sure that CC resident money is worth more than anyone else's. When you think about who lives in CC it's highly unlikely that the majority of those people do a lot of brick and mortar shopping so people need to get over the notion that the success of the mall is based on how many "high class" CC folks shop there. Tourists and conventioneers make impulsive purchases and are very likely to spend money in stores just because they are away from home. Its a safe bet to assume the bulk of the business will come from commuters, Philly residents outside of CC and visitors. From what I recall, stories published several years back stated the Gallery was actually an above average performer in terms of sales per SF for PREIT.