Here's a story about how Pittsburgh is becoming a hub of the "main street" retail trend. Which I guess is true. But I wonder what it means. This trend is nothing new, of course. I remember way back in the late 90s, someone built something called "The Avenue" right across from the White Marsh Mall outside of Baltimore. It was supposed to bring a little "neighborhood" to the suburbs. But it was really just chain stores lined up on a fake-looking street instead of in a mall. So you got wet when you walked from Chili's to Barnes and Noble. (Kind of like that back section of The Waterfront, where the Gap and Panera are located.) It was a nice enough place, though. No complaints. But I wonder about this:
"Pittsburgh is looking for a unique product. Cookie cutter isn't working," said Katie Pliscott, who is working to lease retail space at a garage built to serve the Strip District project.
I'm not so sure. And my questions go all the way back to the beginning of the Piatt project (which is featured prominently in this story.) Remember? Someone promised that we were going to get "charm" as part of the development. You know, none of that cookie-cutter stuff.
Well, hows that going so far? The Piatt Project will include a Capital Grille. (A chain.) And the chains seem to be filtering into a lot of the other "Main Street" projects going in around the area:
Tijuana Flats Burrito Co., a restaurant chain based in Orlando, Fla., plans to open its first area location at Brentwood Towne Square in August but the franchise operator has the right to put several more sites in Allegheny and Butler counties.
Hair salon chain Great Clips, out of Minneapolis, has sites in the market already and plans to add several more in the next two years, said Dan McCall, real estate manager.
... Other tenants looking for sites included office services chain FedEx Kinko's, Ace Hardware, grocery chain Aldi and First Watch, a restaurant company that opened its first area site in Cranberry this spring.
Look, I'm no retail snob. I'll go to Target. And I'll eat at Chili's. And be happy enough about it. But if those things aren't "cookie cutter," I don't know what is. And they certainly aren't "charming." When was the last time you took an out-of-town guest to the FedEx Kinkos for a bit of local flavor?
In the end, I guess I am just sort of confused about why these people feel compelled to say these kinds of things about their projects. In White Marsh, "The Avenue" was constantly crammed with customers. People liked it. So there you go. But I see no reason to act like the place was a 50,000-acre cattle ranch. No reason to act like it was a steel mill. No reason to act like it was a 12th-century medieval castle.
And no reason to act like it's a "main street."
Maybe the cookie looks a little different than it did in the 1980s. But there is still a cutter. These places are going up everywhere, and have been for years. Enjoy them. But let's call them what they are.
Why do developers say their projects are "bringing back main street?" For the same reason laundry detergent manufacturers put "new and improved" on the front of their bottles. They think it'll help them sell.
The only way to have an actual "main street" business district is to, well, have a main street. With lots of people living nearby who can get there conveniently. You know -- density. As long as we keep hollowing out cities, "main street" developments like the Waterfront will be nothing but theme parks paying homage to the fifties, when lots of people walked to the grocery store.
Over and over again, I see people preferring image (easy to create and sustain) to substance (more permanent, but harder to create). That's why they like the Waterfront and go there, but only if it offers cheap goods.
Posted by: Jerry | June 22, 2007 at 07:13 AM