Sound familiar?

[spidey]

Miami Herald
Posted on Mon, Jul. 09, 2007

Business pioneers take a chance on downtown Miami

By ELAINE WALKER AND NIALA BOODHOO

Despite the dirty streets and crime in downtown Miami, there are a handful of hidden gems trying to create a new beginning for the area.

It's no easy task for these small retailers and restaurants, who are in essence pioneers in an area just starting to see the signs of urban redevelopment.

They're hoping to get in on the ground floor as the thousands of new condominiums bring residents who will turn Miami into a true 24-hour city. Yet it's still unclear when these new residents will materialize.

In the meantime, these businesses are trying to develop a community and a following among the people who already live and work downtown. The challenge: building a profitable business at a time when the area is in transition.

Gilberto Buitrago says he sees the future downtown. That's why he decided in February to open Optimystik, featuring designer sunglasses by the likes of Versace and Gucci with prices ranging from $100 to more than $1,000.

''It's picking up. Little by little, we're creating new customers,'' said Buitrago, whose store is at 110 E. Flagler St. ``This is the way you bring different kinds of people downtown by making a store where they can feel comfortable. There is a market for luxury here, but there are a lot of people who stay away from downtown because they're scared.''

Buitrago and other downtown merchants complain that city leaders have to do something about the problems such as homelessness, crime, cleanliness and lack of parking.

They also want better quality tenants, rather than the collection of luggage and electronic stores that have long been a downtown staple.

City leaders are vowing to make improving downtown a priority. A team of workers is cleaning the streets, paid for by the Miami Downtown Development Authority. The DDA also plans to hire a cadre of ''ambassadors'' to patrol the area with walkie-talkies, providing information and security, starting this fall.

Hoping to lure more national retailers, the DDA pitched the Miami story in May to retailers and restaurants with a booth at the International Council of Shopping Centers trade show in Las Vegas.

''I think you can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel,'' said Miami Mayor Manny Diaz said. ``At least we're talking about a transition. Not too many years ago, there was zero happening downtown. Now, we're seeing a lot happening. Downtown is becoming a desirable place to live, work and shop.''

Downtown workers such as attorney Anne Schultz have seen some improvements. Schultz is a regular at Bali Cafe, a tiny storefront at 109 NE Second Ave. serving Indonesian food and sushi. The owners know how she likes her Ayam Bumbu Kecap with extra vegetables instead of rice, and she can make it back to her office in a half-hour.

''It's great that you can finally get healthier food downtown,'' said Schultz, who works for the U.S. Attorney's Office. ``For a city as vibrant and busy as Miami, it's sad you can't have more options.''

Urban planning leaders say the key to turning Miami's central business district into a vibrant downtown is creating a critical mass of a variety of businesses. It's the critical mass that gives consumers an incentive to come to an area and wander around because they know they will find several options of things to do.

''What you have to do is create a sense of place,'' said Dean Schwanke, senior vice president with the Washington-based Urban Land Institute. ``The answer revolves around more than one use, not just offices.''

RESIDENTS NEEDED

Residential buildings are key because they will create more activity in the evening, which will make the area more attractive for retailers and restaurant owners. More people on the streets will cut down on crime, but it's a slow process, he said.

''It's a chicken and egg thing, and it takes a lot of time,'' Schwanke said.

But time is something that not every one of the early pioneers can afford.

Premier Wine Club is exactly the type of new business a growing downtown would want: a sleek, attractive interior that owners Rudi Castineyra and Yasemin Dalkilic designed themselves. Stacks of wine bottles, elegantly displayed in tiers, line one wall. A large bar, with a widescreen TV above it, sits at one end. In between are small tables.

Despite the handful of loyal customers Premier had cultivated in the past 14 months, the husband-and-wife team have decided to sell the place and move.

TOO MANY TROUBLES

The two are tired of fighting the problems downtown, including homeless people who hang out outside the store or come inside, shouting at customers. They lost several clients to crime, including one who spent thousands of dollars a month on wine but stopped coming after her car was broken into right in front of the store at 145 N. Miami Ave.

So they're moving. To where, they're not sure, but it won't be the Design Destrict either. When asked, both shake their heads.

''We don't want to be pioneers anymore,'' Castineyra said.

http://www.miamiherald.com/103/story/162953.html

[thelakelander]

Definately sounds familiar, but based on past visits, I'd say that place (retail wise) is not as dead as the article makes it sound.  To a degree, it sounds like they want downtown Miami whitewashed and yuppified.  Since when did having a boat load of places where you are expected to spend over $1k/month on wine, mean you've arrived as a core?  By all means, Downtown Miami is no Manhattan or even a Portland, but its got a suprisingly vibrant street retail scene... if you like the atmosphere of mom & pop based shops ("those nasty electronic, shoe and luggage shops")  of the Jewelry District and Flagler Street over the national chains of Bayside (a Landing type marketplace that was successful) or South Beach's Lincoln Street Mall.  Sounds more like a suburbanite's dream of a sterile and anything but diverse, scene.

Personally, I'd be pretty impressed if downtown Jax could grow to support the retail scene that downtown Miami now has.  Afterall, it is also home to a Macy's, Marshall's and a Walgreens.  Anyway here's a few pics from a trip I took down there in late 2004.













I'm sure many will differ with me, but I wouldn't mind seeing a bustling retail scene like Flagler Street spring up in urban Jacksonville.....gritty Macy's and all.

[Jason]

I agree Lakelander.  The "mom & pops" are much more accessible to the average consumer who are the vast majority of spenders.  Also the younger demographics tend to be the urban pioneers and aren't making as much money as the older folks who tend to prefer the 'burbs to raise a family.