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They tend to be expensive real estate, and the landlords prefer national corporate chains, so you see lots of banks, realtors, cell phones stores etc. I've rea
by pnw 2y ago
They tend to be expensive real estate, and the landlords prefer national corporate chains, so you see lots of banks, realtors, cell phones stores etc.
I've read that this design isn't ideally suited to many retail establishments but the details escape me.
- TulliusCicero 2y ago> They tend to be expensive real estate, and the landlords prefer national corporate chains, so you see lots of banks, realtors, cell phones stores etc. If you require the retail space, this is probably a non-issue, because there's only so many national corporate chains that will want to open a store in a given area; if you have a LOT of 5-over-1s in a neighborhood, there should be enough space left over for independent stores too.
- smelendez 2y agoYou'd think, but I've seen these stay vacant for years. Sometimes from the outside it looks like the developer is using the "retail" space as storage or a workshop. Sometimes they seem to attract high end medical and beauty/spa businesses. There's nothing wrong with the businesses individually, but a glut of them isn't useful for the neighborhood (nobody needs eight cosmetic dentists). And replacing a strip of walk-in businesses (groceries, cafes, hardware stores, affordable clothing shops) you use regularly with mostly appointment-based services businesses you use occasionally if at all isn't great.
- TulliusCicero 2y agoI'm aware it can happen, but there are ways to deal with vacant storefront space too. For example, if an area is booming and it's just a matter of landlords "holding out", you could have higher property taxes for vacant storefronts.
- ImPostingOnHN 2y agoLeave a washing machine in it, costing $1,000 to use, and open your new laundromat for 1 minute a week
- shiroiushi 2y agoI feel like this is a problem mainly unique to America. It's just way too expensive to open and operate a small retail business there any more, so the only ones that survive are those corporate chains mentioned above (cellphone stores etc.) and the high-end businesses you mention. You just don't see walk-in businesses in most places because they're not economically viable any more. Here in Tokyo, it's completely different: those tiny, independent businesses are everywhere. I'm not completely sure on why this is, but part of it is probably the car dependency (causing things like minimum parking rules), but even in places where the business can ignore parking requirements, it seems rent and labor costs are way too high. Part of this might be from the terrible healthcare system and skyrocketing housing costs. Whatever the reasons, over here it seems to be quite common for people to open small shops and run them by themselves, and that's not something I see in America any more.
- LeifCarrotson 2y agoThe economics of scale that result in WalMart displacing local grocers and local general stores are separate from the zoning policies that result in insufficient affordable retail space and affordable housing, but they're interdependent, creating something of a chicken-and-egg problem...