Retail, restaurants are mixed bag as Brooklyn housing booms

[thelakelander]

Construction began this month on a third apartment complex in Jacksonville's Brooklyn district, more progress for a formerly blighted part of town that has held mixed fortunes for developers and that experts say is still a tricky place to revitalize.

Sandwiched between downtown and Riverside, and laden with pedestrian hazards, the Brooklyn neighborhood presents significant challenges to developers, but the newest residential development signals continued interest in building there despite mixed results for the two retail projects already in place.

The Vista Brooklyn project will be the neighborhood's third major complex in six years. adding another 308 apartments and 13,000-square-feet of retail space to the revitalized neighborhood.

Experts say it will be a challenge to develop a complementary restaurant and retail arm of the housing projects because of inherent pedestrian and surface road conditions and its location between Riverside and Downtown.

The reality is that at 220 Riverside, an apartment complex next door where Vista Brooklyn is being built, the attempt to jump-start retail development fizzled.

Full article: https://www.jacksonville.com/news/20190129/retail-restaurants-are-mixed-bag-as-brooklyn-housing-booms

[thelakelander]

One thing that surprises me about or retail experts in articles like this is that the design and visibility of a space is never discussed or suggested as a reason for a space's success or failure.

In the case of Brooklyn, Brooklyn Station is one of Regency's most successful retail centers in the city. The place is 100% leased and its success has led to another developer preparing to add more space for national chains immediately next door. In both cases, these retail centers offer maximum visibility for tenants, standard retail space sizes, and easy to find parking. Brooklyn Station also has a grocery anchor tenant that pulls in customers from Riverside, San Marco, Northbank, Southbank and other areas outside of Brooklyn.

On the other hand, from a design perspective everything that makes Brooklyn Station excel is what 220 Riverside lacks. You can't really see the retail spaces from the street, spaces overlook a retention pond, parking is confusing and not well lit at night (at least in the dirt parking lot off Magnolia) and the tenant mix didn't match the area's demographics. Naturally and predictably the three pricey restaurants failed. Stick something like a Waffle House in that visible spot facing Riverside Avenue, as opposed to a pricey pizza place that had to compete with better alternative options nearby, and watch people pack that place. As for the other two, less visible spaces, they may require more development to happen around Unity Plaza for them to be viable long term.

[jaxlongtimer]

Lake, agree.  Add that the retail was up a hefty flight of stairs for many people (which also contributed to its lack of street visibility).

Given that upscale River & Post, a few blocks away, is showing success highlights what could have been on this block if it was developed differently. R & P seems to get pretty good business lunch and millennial evening crowds.  While Unity Plaza is better located in the heart of the area's most intense business developments and the abutting and surrounding apartments are loaded with millennials, it still failed. This just supports the idea that the failures are more attributable to poor development strategies, not the area's shortcomings.

Given the poor street visibility, parking arrangements and elevated access, Unity Plaza retailers should have focused more on the 220 Residents to provide a steady and core clientele.  As you note, lower priced options to support frequent visits, especially after the residents pay market-topping rents  , may be the best way to salvage things for now.

[pierre]

I don't think many people were surprised that 220 Riverside restaurants flopped.

There was almost no visibility and it is not a very strong walkable area right now. So you don't get the foot traffic.

And the Sbraga place was tied to a chef that had a crumbling food empire, making it destined to fail like all of his other restaurants.

[KenFSU]

As suspected, Chipotle and Panera are coming to Brooklyn.

Chains, I know, but really good gets for the area.

https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2019/02/05/sources-chipotle-panera-bread-coming-to-brooklyn.html?iana=hpmvp_jac_news_headline

[fieldafm]

Chipotle and Panera have been known tenants for the Ferber inline retail center to those in the commercial real estate world for at least a year now. The third tenant is a fast-casual pizza chain, and the 4th space is still available to a non-restaurant user.

Which is why the draft report of the RummelMunz LaVilla redevelopment plan that claims retail has struggled in Brooklyn is such an eyebrow raiser. Outside of ONE poorly designed and even more poorly executed retail center, retail is thriving in Brooklyn.  The supposed struggling retail environment in Brooklyn is specifically why mixed use is not suggested for the Sax Seafood site along State and Union.  The same State/Union corridor (with direct interstate highway access) that has higher traffic counts than Atlantic Blvd straddling Atlantic and Neptune Beach. It's almost as if there is a specific user in mind for that site, and that user doesn't want retail.  Just maybe that specific user is a well-connected housing developer.

The political machine, and not the private market, drives downtown development locally.... and that is the biggest reason why downtown has struggled despite hundreds of millions of investment over the past three decades. Stepping off soapbox now, and heading over to Burrito Gallery Brooklyn for lunch.

[JeffreyS]

Brooklyn is a good section for some chains, hotels  and some modern construction. A little gentrification between DT and the historic districts. I hope the area is able to keep some affordable working class housing.  We need some residential density in that area.

[thelakelander]

More retail on the way to Brooklyn:

Construction to begin next week on Riverside Chipotle, Panera, Bento and Chop Barbershop

Full article: https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/construction-to-begin-next-week-on-riverside-chipotle-panera-bento-and-chop-barbershop