Quote:
Originally Posted by Spitfiredude
Does anyone think all the retail will eventually be filled? Its a LOT of space.
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I think someone had mentioned that Jimmy Johns is planning to open a location there, and judging by how insanely busy the Mill Ave. location is, and the brisk take-out business they do, I believe the location at the Hub will be successful and will cater to residents and the foot traffic that the new Block 12 will likely generate.
Speaking of foot traffic, I hope that the other businesses that open on the Hub's first floor are the type that generate lots of quick trips/ foot traffic for the area and help to create that more lively environment that Mill enjoys. Businesses (and please don't crucify me) such as Circle K, dry-cleaners, Starbucks, CVS etc. all tend to be what I think many of us would consider to be "short stay" locations. But people flock to them.
When several of them open near each other (as we see all over the place in Valley strip-malls) they become people magnets due to their synergy of products and client base- and they help to generate enough of a crowd to help support other businesses such as clothing boutiques, Hobby shops, record stores etc.
I know that many folks may not want to see College turn into another strip-mall environment- and that's
not what I'm proposing, I am merely pointing out that College (and Mill too for that matter) needs to attract as many of these types of establishments as possible to help create and sustain a velocity of foot traffic that is synonymous with a vibrant and exciting urban environment. It is largely this energy that is attracting these new luxury apartments to downtown Tempe- and it is this dense residential component that will help power the businesses- it's a feedback loop and it really helps to have both coming online together.
The challenge is getting major companies to take a risk and open up shop in an area that has yet to prove itself, or that has a boom/bust track record. Think of all the chains that moved on to Mill and then left in the late 2000s when the economy tanked. Granted, Tempe Marketplace did not help Mill Avenue's commercial aspirations at all, but what Tempe Marketplace lacks is a residential component- which Mill increasingly has.
My hope is that College takes off, and that anchored by College on the east, Mill on the west, University to the south and the Metro line and Tempe Town Lake to the north- the entire area in between (what I affectionately call the "dead zone") will finally come into its own and create a much more diverse and interesting downtown Tempe than Mill Avenue all on its own.
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