High end retail keeps coming, but where?
Fort Worth Business Press - http://www.fortworth...70f47fac12.html
I'm saying it and Downtown has to be feeling it; the competition is bruising Downtown. And Henry S.Miller is ending it security operations.
1. That isn't what Downtown's Market is. High End Retail needs to be patronized by high end shoppers to keep them afloat throughout the year.
2. I know you have mentioned on several occasions that you want downtown to be considered the Central Tourism District but tourists cannot and will not support high end retail year round. You have to choose a lane with what you want out of downtown.
3. I am in downtown several days a week and I don't notice any bruising going on downtown IMO.
Taking somewhat out of order the points you are making, I will begin with:
2. Yes I am calling for Downtown to be more Central Tourism+Residential District. It took me a while to sober up to the reality so starkly pointed out to me and which I now reluctantly see with more clarity that the Market has spoken rather convincingly. When it comes to the Office Construction that Fort Worth craves and when it is East v West the outcome is all but settled on the side of the East.
However, there is not a statement that can be attributed to me that suggests one or the other when it comes to Downtown, rather I maintain that there is room for both.
There are those who have taken the harden position that Downtown must be exclusively a place for office workers because that has always been the cas; and there are those who bemoan the idea of workers involve in tourism and hospitality because they are "lowly jobs". I thought that made much sense. Carefully choosing my words have been what I have done to make certain that I do not preclude the need for office construction while also appreciating that tourism and hospitality can make Downtown vibrant and sustainable too. I am on the records with words that count in the thousands that Fort Worth has to do what it can do for itself because the Market will, as it has demonstrated, pursue its own objectives. I have not veered into a different lane or have I entered a lane which is not consistent to what I have posted repeatedly over time and have repeatedly call for a mixed use project to compliment the tourism and hospitality goals of the City.
1. Downtown once was a place where every kind of retail could be found. The decentralization of retail to malls started the exodus and perhaps the mall being in decline will be an opportunity to restore Downtown as a viable retail center. Downtown retail can coexist and succeed with the help of hotels, residential and tourism. Deciding that retailing is not apart of Downtown is something that you should provide proof of. There still exists a downtown NM which draws from people who are tourists, workers and residents of Downtown Dallas. So that the "never high end retail" argument can be laid to rest.
3. The usage of "bruising" is metaphorical. An ego is seldom noticeable and we are unlikely to actually know how Downtown (SSq) actually feels about "high end' retail choosing Clear Fork and West Bend or new restaurants openings in the Near South and FWSY. However, if it were me and it was my competition, I would not be in a celebratory mood.
For a long time, Downtown has been seen as the "Spot" for entertainment, find dining, and interesting shopping. Curiously, Downtown (SSq) has recently taken some unexpected steps to address its growing competition. I am happy to see it making steps to up its game. I have said that the recent shake up has meaning beyond what is now evident; and for me that is notification enough that Downtown is feeling some hurt. The adage "Fish or cut bait" come to mind.