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Some retailers have announced they’ll be open Thanksgiving Day, while others proclaim they’ll be closed.
Kmart, J.C. Penney, Toys R Us and Walmart are all opening their doors on Thanksgiving this year, but that doesn’t mean everyone is asking workers to report for Black Friday duty a day early.
At least 13 large retailers have decided to remain closed on Thanksgiving. In various statements, the companies have cited the questionable benefits of opening on Thursday and the importance of preserving the holiday for employees and customers alike. (Huffington Post)
I’m curious if readers will be out shopping, at home shopping online, or not shopping at all. The poll is in the right sidebar (desktop layout).
I’m a huge fan of Retrofitting Suburbia, the redevelopment of formerly auto-centric suburban retail sites. In late September, while on my honeymoon, I got to see three different examples in the Denver area. Two site once had traditional enclosed malls, the third was previously an airport. We started with the oldest and finished with the newest.
Englewood, CO
In June 2000 the CityCenter Englewood project opened, replacing Cinderella City mall that had opened just 32 years earlier:
The mall was completed and officially opened for business on 7 March 1968 and once held the distinction of being the largest covered shopping center west of the Mississippi River. It featured four sections: Rose Mall, Gold Mall, Shamrock Mall and Cinder Alley. In addition, the Center Court area was known as the Blue Mall. It was demolished in 1999. (Wikipedia)
Englewood was founded in the 19th Century but largely developed in the Post-WWII era. Like many post-war suburbs, it lacked a downtown. By the 1980s newer malls had eclipsed Cinderella City. In the late 1990s they saw the replacement of the mall and the coming of light rail as an opportunity to build a downtown:
CityCenter Englewood replaced Cinderella City with a transit-oriented development (TOD). This TOD is a pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use concept that includes retail, entertainment, residential, office, civic and open space elements with a transit focal point. The former Foley’s building was renovated into the new Englewood Civic Center, which houses the City Hall offices, the Library, Municipal Court, and the Museum of Outdoor Arts. The Civic Center was the first feature of CityCenter Englewood to open when it made its debut in June 2000.
The Civic Center creates the cornerstone of the redevelopment of Cinderella City that includes Wal-Mart, Trammell Crow apartments with first floor retail, Office Depot, the Sports Authority, IHOP, Qdoba, and other retail and commercial businesses, second floor office with first floor retail, an RTD light rail station, and a Bally’s Fitness Center. (City of Englewood)
You can see a current aerial here, and a 1991 aerial here. In the Southwest corner of the site an anchor store building was retained, as was part of the structured parking. The adjacent street grid was brought through the site. Apartments were added nearest the new light rail station, big box stores added to the east end of the site. All connected by a grid of streets and sidewalks.
The former anchor store that remained is nope the Englewood Civic CenterThe light rail station is to the left, the Walmart down the road to the right. Yes, a Walmart is across the street from a large 3-story apartment building that has street-level retail.
Not bad for an early example of such a project. We saw people walking as we drove through, others can be seen in Google Street View.
Lakewood, CO
The Villa Italia mall opened two years before Cinderella City, in 1966. By the 1990s Lakewood officials saw both malls dying off, they didn’t want a vacant mall in their city.
A referendum was held in 1997, which authorized “urban renewal” to redevelop Villa Italia into a more conventional downtown district, something that the post-war suburb had never had.
In 1998, Lakewood entered into a joint venture with Denver-based Continuum Development. Continuum purchased the land beneath the mall from the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation in September 1999 and acquired the buildings and ground leases from Equitable in early 2001. The site was rezoned (from that of an enclosed shopping center to a mixed-use development) and the redevelopment plan put in motion.
Villa Italia closed in July 2001, demolition began the following January. Belmar opened in 2004. Like CityCenter Englewood, streets were cut through the site. Not private driveways, public streets with public sidewalks. The pedestrian grid was as equally important as the vehicular grid, not an afterthought.
You can view an old aerial here and a current one here.
A new street at BelmarThe new buildings have a variety of uses and architectural stylesIt too has big boxes, this is the side view of Target.
A former anchor department store building was kept, it’s now a Dick’s Sporting Goods store. New housing is on the perimeter of the site, surrounding the retail core.
Stapleton
When Denver decided to build a new airport east of the developed region the question became what to do with the old airport.
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A wide variety of new housing is part of Stapleton, including single family homes, apartments, townhouses, etcAn internal street in the center of the main retail area called The Shops at Northfield StapletonAnother viewAnother street in the core of the retail area, note the on-street parkingDespite plenty of free parking on the perimeter, to park in the center requires payment. The silver Ford Focus was our rental for 3 days of our 7-day honeymoonLooking out at the street from our lunch tableJust beyond the center you can see big box stores and large parking lots.Like the two previous examples, pedestrian connectivity was planned from the start to connect everything together.The urban-ish area on the left, big box to the right. All walkable & drivable.Another view from the retail center looking toward the big boxes on the perimeter.Target is among the many big box stores at StapletonLooking out from Target, their walkway connects to the Stapleton pedestrian network beyond Target’s parking lot.The street where we parked terminated in a Bass Pro Shops store, also connected to the sidewalk system
The overall site is massive, as you might expect from a former airport. It has many residential neighborhoods, distinct retail areas, and a business park.
Final thoughts
All three are variations on the New Urbanist/Retrofitting Suburbia theme. While I wouldn’t want to live at any of the three I know someone like me, who uses a wheelchair often, can get to businesses at each development on a sidewalk network. All three remain very car friendly, I drove to all three. Providing the option to walk doesn’t make them less appealing to motorists. Some pedestrians probably arrived by car but decide to explore on foot rather than drive from store to store.
Back on July I posted about a problem accessing Yorkshire Village Shopping Center, recently completed construction had created a new obstacle! I contacted the property owner about the problem, we even met at the site once.
July 2014: a new curb kept the path between buildings from being accessible. I don’t know how stuff like this gets built more than two decades after the ADA, but it does all too oftenThe developer fixed the problem on October 23rd, I visited again on the 31st.Looking the other way, toward the new CVS
It’s a small change, but was much more expensive after the fact than if it had been done correctly in the first place. Their architect/engineer still insists it was compliant the way it was first built, but it wasn’t. The fact the building was existing is irrelevant:
Because barrier removal under the ADA is a continuing obligation, an accessible route may need to be provided at a later date, if a route for the general public develops or is created, and the provision of an accessible route is readily achievable. For instance, if a new bus stop is established near a site, an accessible route may have to be provided if pedestrians commonly walk between the new bus stop and the entrance to the facility. Similarly, if a sidewalk or walkway is provided between the facility and the new bus stop, an accessible route may be required. (Dept of Justice)
I’ve taken readings of the ramp, based on the slope it needs handrails on both sides to be fully compliant with ADA guidelines. If it weren’t as steep handrails wouldn’t be necessary.
Thanks to Matthew Stack of Koch Development for recognizing the problem and taking corrective action.
After nearly a two decade absence (see Last Downtown St. Louis Auto Dealership Closed in 1995), a Mercedes-Benz dealership is once again located within the City of St. Louis. Two more exist in the region, one in St. Louis County and one in St. Charles County. None in the Metro East.
The new Mercedes-Benz of St. Louis at Hampton & Clayton
Before we take a closer look at the finished dealership, we need to revisit the before and during.
KTVI’s studios previously occupied the site, not remotely urban. October 2012 photoBy July 2013 the old KTVI building had been razed, the site fenced. August 2013 photoThe steel structure for the main showroom going up in February 2014View looking north along HamptonView looking east along ClaytonView from near the east-facing showroom entrance, looking down the accessible route to the Clayton Ave public sidewalk. See Mini of St. Louis, it is possible to comply in a graceful way!Inside the showroomSouthern view of dealership along Berthold Ave. Service work is done in the level below the showroom. Customers drop off their cars on the main level though.Customers dropping off or picking up their Mercedes-Benz do so up on the main level, but visiting the parts department requires a short flight of stairs that lack handrails. The grade change on Berthed Ave would’ve permitted an accessible entry.
For nearly 20 years this dealership, then called TriStar Imports, was located in suburban Ellisville at 16360 Truman Rd Ellisville, Missouri 63011. Their old location is listed for $4.5 million. The far west county demographics just weren’t what they hoped they’d be.
Earlier this week one local company stepped up to invest in Ferguson:
Centene Corp. has selected Ferguson, the site of unrest for more than three weeks following the police shooting of Michael Brown, as the location for a new claims processing facility, with plans to bring up to 200 jobs to the city.The unrest following Brown’s death prompted Centene to select the city for the expansion. (stltoday)
This is potentially great news! I say potentially because most major call centers fit perfectly in an exurban office park; generic building sounded by massive surface parking lots, all fenced in. Ferguson needs these jobs, but it needs them in an engaged environment. Where? What would it look like? The where is quite simple: Emerson owns the perfect site on the SW corner of W. Florissant & Ferguson Ave., 9001 W. Florissant Ave.
This corner is 7+ acresLooking north from an adjacent Ameren substation, the Ferguson Market is in the backgroundLooking north from in front of the Ameren substationLooking south from Ferguson AveMap of the site consisting of two parcels, both owned by Emerson, right of the purple line is Jennings
I’m not sure why Emerson bought this property, likely to raze the structure that was on the site as of 1971. Having a neighbor like Centene could be beneficial to Emerson, more workers means more lunch places. Hopefully Emerson would be willing to sell to Centene, or partner on a project to develop the site. And build what?
What they shouldn’t build is a building in the center surrounded by parkingInstead, the building should be pushed out to the corner so pedestrians can easily reach the entrance(s).
Ideally the building would be at least two floors, with the first floor for retail. I’d like to see a St. Louis Bread Co (aka Panera*) or Chronicle Coffee on the corner. This would provide additional jobs and more places for these 200 employees and those who work in the area to get breakfast, lunch & dinner. Nearby locally-owned places like Ferguson Burger Bar & More would also benefit. Parking can be located behind the building. If Centene doesn’t need this much space the site could be planned for more than one building facing W. Florissant. * Disclosure: I have a handful of Panera stock
If Ameren built a new substation at the back corner, an auto entrance could be created at the traffic signal at Solway Ave.
A project at this corner could be a great way to implement East West Gateway’s Great Street master plan for W. Florissant!
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