The Park View Pavilion Coming Soon

[Ocklawaha]

JUST SAY'IN

OCKLAWAHA

[acme54321]

Just saying what?  The picture are good but it looks like you are saying that the old Claude Nolan should be turned into a rail museum or something?

[iloveionia]

One of my colleges had a dorm that was a renovated factory building.  It was cool, I lived in it for a year.  My pottery class was in the backside of the dorm as the factory building was HUGE.  And coincidently is was/is located in Springfield, MA. 

[Coolyfett]

I just drove by last Thursday and thought this would be a perfect renovation for FSCJ Dormitories.

I'm thrilled that there's even a proposal to turn this into something nice, not to mention walkable.

This "THING" is not that far from Rosa Parks Station.

[Timkin]

Any feasible , practical reuse is better than it sitting there deteriorating, so Museum, Train Depot, Heck WALMART is ok.  Just do it!


Just sayin'

[Jaxson]

Of any business that would open on the Park View site, how about Walgreen's?  There seems to be a Walgreen's on every other block elsewhere around town...

[Debbie Thompson]

Anything would be better than what is there, but you already said it Jaxson, there's a Walgreen's or CVS on every other block.  Personally, I hope they can attract some stuff that isn't on every other corner already. :-)

[thelakelander]

Moreso than an unique business, that corner needs something that works that this specific area could serve as a great location for.  If its a national chain that is attracted by the demographics and location, so be it.  Regarding pharmacies, they may be on every other block in the burbs but they aren't anywhere within walking distance of downtown.  The closest CVS store from downtown is five miles away in Arlington at the intersection of Merrill & University.  The closest Walgreens near downtown is 1.7 miles away at 8th Street & I-95.  Nevertheless, the Park View site could have nearly 60k sf of retail space.  There's enough room for a pharmacy/national chain and other businesses.

[iloveionia]

A Target with a grocery store.  Yeah.  That's my dream for the corner.  Wanna hear my dream for Main Street in Springfield?

[thelakelander]

A Target would probably need over 200,000 square feet of retail floor area.  That won't fit on that site unless the garage they want to save is demolished for a vertical store that would take up the entire block. From what has been presented, the largest retail space available is around 12,000sf.

[finehoe]

Target Set to Test Smaller, Urban Stores

Target (TGT) will downsize its ambitions a bit in the near future. Not in growth, but store size. Instead of littering the American landscape with even more big-box stores, the second-largest discount retailer in the U.S. wants to open smaller, more urban locations.

Outlining its store strategy last week, Target execs indicated that the retailer won't be forging ahead and a slew of larger SuperTarget locations. Instead, it will remodel existing stores and test the urban store concept to try and connect with the mass populations inside city centers instead of the folks in suburbs. Prediction: the effort won't go far. The point of people living in urban centers is familiarity and community -- the suburban feel and larger stores that compete with the mom-and-pop circuit won't cut it with city dwellers.

Points to Target for trying this, though, and appeasing its investors so it has time to recapture the consumer magic it had back in 2008 when its bright and shiny stores were gaining all the attention compared to its larger rival from Bentonville. Investing in the renovation of existing stores is a much better proposition for Target, where it can begin offering complete grocery sections and, with any luck, regional food selections that will give it a more custom feel to its population base. To that end, Target will invest $1 billion in renovation efforts for the next five to ten years.

Going back to the urban strategy -- Target could pull this off if it gets away from the "box" format and does something radical with smaller locations meant for inner-city real estate. Making those stores feel like smaller locations with the design, lighting and aesthetics that go with that format may work. What won't: downsizing the box concept and dropping those into city centers.

http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2010/01/25/target-set-to-test-smaller-urban-stores/

[thelakelander]

Any idea what the urban store's square footage will be?  For example, an urban Publix is still around 28,000sf.

[finehoe]

The new urban prototype will range anywhere from 60,000 to 100,000 square feet

http://technews.tmcnet.com/topics/associated-press/articles/104634-target-open-first-small-urban-store-seattle.htm

[thelakelander]

Here is an urban Target in Midtown Miami.  Its 141,000 square feet.  Smaller than the typical suburban store but still a lot larger than the largest retail footprint at the Park View project.

[Singejoufflue]

Wasn't it Jim Bailey speaking on MJ about not always trying for home runs but aiming for singles...

This is the prime example.  A reasonable solution is a well-appointed Walgreens/CVS that offers full services (Minute Clinic, Photo, Pharmacy, etc) alongside extended merchandise selection with perhaps a smaller coffee shop/sandwich shop attached.  Drugstores are common community anchors and can really help turn a neighborhood around.