Today's Bizjournal (from yesterday's print issue) wonders why developers don't "get" good ground floor retail. Probably because they're just interested in getting the condo or office towers up in the air, streetscape be damned. No conclusions in the article, but this gem tucked away:
At the Beacon condominium complex in San Francisco's Mission Bay neighborhood, large and well-thought-out retail space has attracted a high-end version of a Safeway supermarket and a Borders bookstore. The retail did well enough that owner Centurion Real Estate Partners fielded unsolicited offers for space within a few weeks of buying the housing complex last year. The 82,000 square feet of retail stores eventually sold to Invesco Real Estate of Dallas for $62 million.Centurion was also able to sell the garage; none of the condos have deeded parking. Pity they couldn't dump a few condos along the way.
· New buildings struggle with empty retail space [BizJournal]