Quote:
Originally Posted by niwell
While I agree that there is far too much unsuitable retail space being built, not sure this is the answer either. Even in areas with more than sufficient foot traffic condo developers may often wish to forgo retail that would be profitable as it simply adds extra complications to the ownership model. Also there areas which may have sufficient demand in the future but won't for some time. Once the building is passed over to the condo corporation though the original developer doesn't really care (not a slight, why would they?).
By the same token simply requiring retail space in every building leads to unsuitable spaces that can end up vacant. I think the answer is a mix of oply requiring retail spaces fronting main / designated retail streets / areas and ensuring they meet a minimum specification (frontage, clear height, etc.). In other areas you can leave it up to the developer.
I'm pretty much talking about condo development only - the same is not necessarily true for managed large scale rental apartment or office buildings owned by a REIT or investment group. Retail can become a lot more desirable then.
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I think the model used in many Asian cities is ideal, where main boulevards are lined with retail, stores, restaurants, coffee shops, snacks, for pedestrians to trickle in and out of while going down a major street. The smaller, side streets perpendicular to the main streets are more for residents to get to their homes, but are still usually sprinkled with some retail, usually boutiques or small shops. Of course, this is more easily achievable in Asia because of more dense residential. But I think it's something we can strive for.
Check out these streets in Taipei for example:
https://goo.gl/maps/9KXuMGC8ees
https://goo.gl/maps/3u9rY1KFJQ82
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