Friday, February 18, 2011

No "Five Guys" At Wilson Yard

A reader alterted us to Baum Realty's updated Wilson Yard flyer and a lot of you are going to be disappointed. The "proposed" Five Guys is gone and in its place is "Weight Watchers." Talk about going from one retail extreme to another.
How many Weight Watcher's points would a Five Guys burger and fries be anyway?
If you're keeping track on the other retail spaces, there is no activity in the corner space on Broadway and Montrose where the proposed PNC bank is listed. AT&T has signage and most of the buildout is complete. Chicago Nails has a work permit in the window of their space and we assume will be moving from their location next to Dunkin Donuts at Broadway and Wilson, leaving another vacant storefront there. Hair Cuttery has temporary signs up and the buildout is more or less complete. Subway has a temporary sign up and work is beginning on the interior. No activity or permits are visible in the proposed Play-N-Trade.
That leaves 5 spaces that are still being marketed. There you have it.

10 comments:

  1. It's just pathetic when residents can get excited about concerns like AT&T, yet ANOTHER Subway, a nail salon, or even another 5 Guys.

    You'd think we'd be sick to death of chain retail, especially when we're choking to death on it and there is such a glut of it that we have something like 9 times as much retail sqaure footage per consumer as we did in 1964- which I don't remember being a lean time.

    Unfortunately, this area will never be another Andersonville, especially with the addition of a big box behemoth with a bunch of high rent retail spaces along Broadway. Boutiques can't afford those rents, so we have to hope that the big chains, who are now retrenching steeply in this recession, will open up here while they're shuttering locations elsewhere.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kinda a pathetic mix of retailers considering there is a shiny new Target next door that generates lots of foot traffic.

    But really, did we expect anything better from Peter and Helen?

    Until the crime/shootings/gang activity go away, these may be the only types of retailers that are willing to set up shop in our hood.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am concerned to what will happen farther north where the Borders will be leaving- lots of retail space abandoned....

    ReplyDelete
  4. @miss kitty - you hit the nail on the head. Clean up first, then they will come.

    On a side note - five guys going in at Belmont and broadway. Imagine that....

    ReplyDelete
  5. I agree that it is pathetic to get all excited over these type businesses. Where are some brand name clothing shops for men and women. I am sure there are many others like myself that are not into Target clothing. Maybe a nice brand name shoe shop be great too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You're all wrong.

    What we need is a game arcade, a rugby gear store, a shop that only sells tweed jackets, a school of economics, and a Christian Reading Room. Everything else is just a waste of space.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Old Navy would be a nice fit with the Uptown Demographics.

    There is an Old Navy next to Target in Harlem (a very diverse community) and it kicks butt...

    Heck, maybe Old Navy would consider the Borders space.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What we need are businesses that contribute to the tax base by selling taxable products. There's an awful lot of TIF money that needs to be recovered from this project, after all. Nice to know that Holsten is taking his profit off the top.

    Banks -- nope. Reading rooms -- nope. Weight Watchers -- probably not (are services taxed?) Real estate management offices -- nope.

    Five Guys would have been great for that; Subway will do an okay job of it, although the fact that there are two other Subways within walking distance of the Wilson Yard location really takes away from its exclusivity draw, and Five Guys would have had that (if there was ever an intention of their really coming to Uptown, that is... this IS Wilson Yard, aka Project of Broken Promises, after all).

    We're losing a huge revenue stream with Borders' closing.

    Rob, a game arcade, a rugby gear store, a shop that only sells tweed jackets .. check, check and check!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I agree, TrumanSquareNabr, that we need more business that contribute to the tax base. Unfortunately, too many think that TIF money should be used for low income housing and schools. Uptown has way too much low income housing and throwing more money at schools will not cure the ills in our public schools.

    ReplyDelete