DT Portland begins retail boost: Pioneer Place considers expanding up

[MarkDaMan]

KYLE GREEN / PORTLAND TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO
The addition of one or more floors to the northeast block of the Pioneer Place shopping center, known as the Rotunda Block, is one of the projects under consideration in the downtown shopping core.

Retail core will get a boost
Downtown businesses plan renovations to fight loss of customers to suburbs
By Jim Redden


Downtown business owners and city leaders are preparing to invest millions of dollars in the retail core in coming years to better compete against the growing number of successful suburban shopping centers.

The money will be on top of the approximately $219 million in public and private funds being spent to renovate the transit mall. Additional projects under consideration include adding one or more floors to the northeast block of the Pioneer Place shopping center, known as the Rotunda Block. A complete remodeling of the downtown Nordstrom store also is in the works.

Sandra McDonough, the Portland Business Alliance chief executive officer and and president, said the investments are necessary for downtown to regain its competitive advantage against the suburban centers.

The PBA recently presented an updated Downtown Retail Strategy to the Portland Development Commission that calls for around $15 million in targeted public spending to retain and attract downtown retailers.

The business organization also supported Mayor Tom Potter’s Street Access for Everyone proposal to increase social services downtown.

“You’ve got a lot of people focusing on downtown now trying to figure out how we can make this crown jewel of the regional economy healthy again,” she said.

According to McDonough, the regional retail environment has changed dramatically in recent years, especially with the opening of Bridgeport Village and the Streets of Tanasbourne, two so-called lifestyle centers that feature the kind of upscale stores that could only be found downtown in the past.

Bringing shoppers back

The update found that retail growth in the suburban centers is far outpacing downtown. According to the update, leasable downtown space was expected to hold steady at around 2 million square feet through 2008, but increase from around 2.6 million square feet to approximately 4 million square feet in 2008 at the suburban centers.

The update found much of this suburban space was being filled by retailers who once had been exclusive to downtown, including BCBG, Coach, Mario’s and Pottery Barn.

“In the past, these exclusive stores made downtown a shopping destination. Now they can be found outside of the retail core,” McDonough said.

A number of factors also have emerged in recent years that have made downtown shopping trips more difficult, according to the update. Those factors include aggressive panhandlers, sidewalk obstructions and a growing number of construction projects – in addition to the mall renovation – that block streets.

“Coming downtown should be special trip, not a challenging one,” McDonough said.

Despite the problems, downtown boosters say the Portland retail core is the envy of the nation. Potter spent much of his Jan. 19 State of the City speech praising downtown’s vitality and noting that many other major American cities essentially close down on evenings and weekends.

In contrast, Potter noted that business owners already have committed hundreds of millions of dollars for new downtown projects, including developer Tom Moyer, who recently announced plans to build a 35-story mixed use high-rise tower on the block just west of Nordstrom.

“The city, including its downtown core, is alive and well,” Potter told the capacity City Club crowd gathered at the Governor Hotel.

Expanding the core

The retail core is defined in city policies as the 35-block area bordered by Southwest Salmon and Washington streets between Southwest Third and 10th avenues.

According to McDonough, one reason for the core’s success is the Business Improvement District formed by local property owners who assess themselves to provide additional security and cleaning services.

McDonough said talks are under way to expand the boundaries to include the five blocks along Southwest Second Avenue and the 10 blocks between Southwest 10th and 12th avenues.

According to McDonough, the Second Avenue blocks should be included because they already are hosting major retailers, including Borders bookstore. And, McDonough said, the blocks between 10th and 12th avenues are poised for redevelopment projects that could use such services – including a series of mixed-use high-rises similar to the one proposed by Moyer.

“We need more people living downtown, and these blocks could become a new residential center,” she said.

jimredden@portlandtribune.com
http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/...77306425785100

[pdxman]

I don't see the reasoning behind expanding pioneer place. I see plenty of empty spots in that mall that haven't been filled--for a while.

[Capitol Hill]

Tough to get people to get to the upper floors in any multi level urban mall. San Francisco Center comes to mind as a success, but they parked Nordstrom on the top with those cool curving escalators. Chicago does vertical retail well along Michigan Ave., but other than that, I can't think of another American city that does vertical retailing that well, even NY. It'll be a challenge for them to lease their upper floors.
Pacific Place here in Seattle has the top floor for the movie theater/restaurants, the floor below has the skybridge to Nordstrom, and they developers stated that if they didn't get that skybridge, they would have stopped at floor 3. It's a difficult project to pull off, I wish them well.

[MarkDaMan]

^Pioneer Place does have a 3rd floor sky bridge and this extension would be on top of the theater. A large national tenant taking half of the top floor plus the theater already up there would drive traffic into that half of the mall. The older section that connects by tunnel to the food court and the new addition has always been successful, but for whatever reason the new section has stagnated. They did put a Moonstruck Chocolate Cafe where the Rose 'Fountain' used to be.

I don't think they are basing the new addition on the fact the mall's square footage is filled, it isn't, but there were some flaws with the design of the new addition, expecting certain tenants to take up space they didn't (Sundance Films). Hopefully an extension could correct that...

I'm glad to see the Nordstrom renovation mentioned again.

[PacificNW]

Who knows....maybe a retailer like Crate and Barrel would be interested in the whole floor space. A retailer like that would entice people up to the top.

[pdxman]

I would love to see C&B fill the galleria building...i'm also hoping that maybe, just maybe moyer could attract the likes of a neiman marcus in his new building

[PacificNW]

I understand he has been working on Needless Markup for years. Now that they are going to open a store in Bellevue he may get his wish.

[65MAX]

Unless Nieman Marcus does a small boutique-like store, it won't fit in Moyer's Park Avenue West tower. It could however fill the lower 3 floors of the Galleria (assuming they would share the rest of the building with the WCI). That was a department store originally, so converting it back to that use makes perfect sense. Plus, it's a beautiful historic building, appropriate for a high-end retailer like NM.

[pdxstreetcar]

So the expansion would be above the theater? Doesnt make a lot of sense to me unless its a major restaurant or a destination attraction.

And as has already been said, theres plenty of empty spaces in the mall particularly on the upper floors.

Perhaps the block north of the Galleria could be a retail complex.

[PacificNW]

Retail, in general, is in a constant flux. If you have a good product and provide great service people will find you. Retail in a mall usually means that the store is somewhat of a national brand (okay not Twist) and must give the customer what they want or die. Look at the huge slide of the Gap company stores.

Other retail, outside the mall/namely downtown, appeal to their customers because they are unique and homegrown.

When Pioneer Place finds the right retail mix I am sure it will do fine. Even at the slowest periods I have noticed it has more shoppers than Pacific Place in Seattle (probably because it is not quite so upscale).

I am sure some of you guys will remember some of the old pictures of some intersections in downtown Portland. The "lighted curved arches" designed to cross the streets. I know Portland is against skywalks but what about creating something very similar and festive to support a skybridge from Pioneer Place to the new Macy's? Just a thought..

[Drmyeyes]

I'm not so opposed to skybridges. I like the ones at Pioneer Place. I'm trying to remember why the city reacted so strongly against them more than 30 years ago it seams. It seems a bit complicated and more of an issue than just blocking views and making the streets seem more claustrophobic.

Before the Heathman Hotels renovation many years ago, it used to have a skybridge connecting it to the building above Coffee People. It was really an eyesore. Seems like they wanted to replace it with the renovation but forces prevailed against it, and then the use for the building changed anyway. Another reason for resistance against skybridges is that some people feel it draws energy away from street level and consequently, emphasis on maintaining the highest quality energy and aesthetics possible at street level.

I'm not sure what to think about Pioneer Place expanding, particularly in PPII. II has one significant flaw relative to I; it's darker, I suppose because of the extra level, and because its atrium isn't accordingly greater in diameter to compensate for that. But that probably only bothers people like me, that need lots of light. This may not have any bearing on more retail in an expanded Pio Pl. Portland downtown customers will probably increase in number to create the business for that additional retail.

[roner]

I think an H&M would do wonders for the retail core. It would attract shoppers of all classes and would be the only one in Oregon. Besides, people love some H&M.

[mcbaby]

i was in pioneer place recently and just realized that i didn't want to be there. it was somewhat claustrophobic. it seems weird to me to be in a vibrant downtown and yet go inside a mall filled with trendy shops that just insulates you from the real city outside.

[cab]

THis is a problem. The business community Downtown has a suburban mall mentality. Instead of competing with suburban malls by offering unique local retail in a very urban environment they want to offer all the same national chains in a suburban environment. They think DT is a mall.

[PacificNW]

↑A national mall developer will incorporate mostly national retailers..But healthy downtown retail cores such as Portland/Seattle unique, one of a kind, retail shops are what makes the shopping experience more positive.

International retailers such as H&M only "add" to the mix.

[SpongeG]

there seems to be so many dead spots downtown why don;t they fill those up?

there was a big spot just across the street from that mall that was empty the last two visits i made downtown Portland... (latest being june 2006) and a lot of other spaces within a block

[PacificNW]

The empty spots have to be "right" for a retailer....in today's world they aren't just going to make do in order to have a presence.

[pdxman]

yes spongeg, its good to know that i'm not the only one who sees how dead DT is. I think it interesting that so much commercial, retail space is being built when theres so many empty spots that aren't yet filled in the DT area.

[bvpcvm]

And I was just thinking how lively DT was this afternoon as I was passing the Galleria. There's the spine along Morrison/Yamhill which always has people on it, along with a jog up 10th to Powell's that's also pretty active. Sure, there are dead spots, but if you really want to see dead, go to Omaha. Or pretty much anywhere else.

Re: construction of retail, this has already been beat to death here, but maybe you missed it: most of the retail space in downtown is too small for large retailers, largely thanks to our small blocks. There won't be any H&M or Crate&Barrel downtown until there's a large enough space for it to open a profitable operation.

[pdxman]

so whats to be done with all of this "useless" retail space? They should stop allowing retail to be built in places like the pearl and fill up the spaces that are empty. Theres a glut of empty small retail in portland and yet they keep building more of it, wtf?