Dillard's and Macy's are going to be part of the project. The Dillard's and Foley's (owned by the same company as Macy's) stores at SW Center Mall will be too close to the ones in Cedar Hill; it's almost a certainty that those stores will be closed.
Most elected officials were blindsided, but I believe that we could have been ahead of the curve in dealing with the mall. We have to keep an open line of communication with retailers, major real estate owners, and shopping center owners. We must be proactive to make sure our neighborhoods retain their stores. I know that Councilman Fantroy tried to work with some different retail groups to bring them the mall, and kudos to him for doing that, but unfortunately it didn't pan out. How much help did he get in this matter?
For example, the UrbanMarket (the grocery store that recently opened downtown) has been threatening to close their doors because they aren't getting the support they need from the City. Angela Hunt, the councilwoman for District 14, is actively involved in trying to keep the store open. We need more of that in the southern sector. Sometimes, the store will close or move away. You sometimes can't stop the movements of big corporations, but at least we would be ahead of the curve and could work on some countermeasures to offset the loss of city revenues.
It's just like when the Chili's restaurant closed a few months back. The restaurant was located at 67 & Camp Wisdom (map). It was a thriving business, always full on the weekend and often crowded during the week. It was one of the only major restaurants in the area that didn't focus solely on fried chicken. One day, it was just closed. No explanation, no heads-up, no nothing. Just a vacant store with a 'for lease' sign is all that remained. Now, those kids that worked in Chili's have no jobs. Now, there is no decent major restaurant located in that area (buffets don't count).
Camp Wisdom Road is now in a crisis. ALL OF THE STORES ARE LEAVING. From Haverty's to Chili's to Circuit City to others... They're all moving to Cedar Hill. These stores are being replaced with cheap stores that are already prevalent in our neighborhoods. They sell cheap clothes, bootleg purses, gold and diamond grillz, and other items which add little to the tax base and downgrade the profile of our shopping environments.
The last remaining viable pieces of an economic engine are being stripped away. When it's all said and done, Oak Cliff will be left with no major retail.
The new owner of SW Center mall has a reputation for operating bazaar-like shopping centers like Six Flags Mall in Arlington.
I made this plea to some of the 'powers that be' and I got the "treatment." That's when everyone says, "yeah, that's a GREAT idea!" and nothing happens
With no viable retail on the horizon, I believe that the best thing to do may be to demolish the mall and start over. Unfortunately, we may have missed our opportunity to do anything about it. The property was foreclosed upon in 2003, which created a window of opportunity. Once the property changed hands last December, I think we missed our shot.
The city has a major opportunity to develop major tax dollars in this area. I fear what will be left in its place. I hope my fears aren't confirmed.
Click here for a History of the Mall (from wikipedia).
1 comment:
Mr. Davis,
I've been hearing a lot about the positive things you've been doing to move Dallas forward, I commend you for your ongoing endeavors.
As for shopping in the southern sector, I work in architecture and wrote the following as an email to the principal of the office as he was trying to encourage new ideas to forward to clients looking for nice investments:
When does unstructured thinking venture beyond social and economic perceptions? I believe there are unexplored opportunities that can provide unique retail and shopping experiences in locations that are overlooked because of the perceived notion that under development equates to a total demographic of people that don't make and spend money. It is clear that the basic idea of retail is to exchange money for an item or service; African American buying power is projected to reach $852.8 billion by 2007 and Hispanic buying power is expected to reach $1 trillion in the very near future; that's $2 trillion of spending but there are few if any modern retail models that are specifically aimed toward providing shopping experiences for these consumers. I would think there is clearly a market of opportunity that can be capitalized by providing shopping centers that create strong and positive cultural environments and influences. Typically municipalities may target these types of influences, but at some point retailers must catch on.
Just the other day the Dallas Morning News had an article that talked about how Hollywood has become intrigued about the unanticipated success of some recently released films that feature African Americans. The success of these films as moneymakers was a surprise because the films appealed to an untapped audience. Millions of dollars was left on the table because enough people thought in an "industry typical" manner and was not aware of reward potential of some very low budget films only because "that's never been done before"!
Using Dallas (the can't do city) as an example, I have experienced significant lifestyle differences between the northern and southern sectors of the city. I know those differences are cliché', but there is reality to gain that can be generated if properly analyzed and seized.
Starbucks is always a perfect example for this type of discussion. Here in North Dallas, I easily pass no less than 4 Starbucks in a ten-minute drive to work. In all of the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, there's one Starbucks, and it's not in a location for someone to mindlessly add to the Starbucks fortune by giving them $20 a week for a cup coffee. In Oak Cliff, a coffee drinker has to deliberately drive (out of their way for most) to Starbucks to get a cup of coffee. Is there a shortage of coffee drinkers in this area of town or is there a shortage of coffee shops?
Imagine a shopping center that provides the same types of goods and services as any other, but provide cultural influenced shopping experiences. An enormous buzz (advertisement through publicity) can be created with market styled areas for independent vendors to sell merchandise that's not sold in typical stores. This type of shopping can be very popular if clustered in the proper format.
Visual and tangible elements will attract responsible consumers to these types of areas. The notion of providing fewer aesthetics to cut costs in areas that are underdeveloped are not well received, they quickly repel shoppers. Everyone likes to live in an area that's tailored to the way they live. There are several new residential areas and a number of huge churches currently under construction in this area of Dallas, but there is much inconvenience when it comes to community shopping.
I believe this approach would give some potential developer insight about understanding how to bring modern retail experiences to areas typically overlooked because of their current economic perceptions and not their capabilities. If I'm a really hungry developer I'd like to have a piece of $2 Trillion pie, (if there's not a slice of apple pie left of course)!
end
Of course my idea was not new but, I tried to highlight the economic impact this can carry for many people. There are ideas that can incorporate shopping and other economic support services that developers and investors don't want to embrace because they allow negative influences to deter them. With all of the new homes being constructed in the southern sector and the emergence of the intermodal concept, it's apparent that some people are not motivated by the money that is waiting to be made. What an opportunity for a group of black investors; what better time than to begin trusting each other to accomplish something!!
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