Listen to my latest thinking on Downtown retail (September 2024)
Listen to MY LATEST THINKING ON DOWNTOWN RETAIL — specifically, Downtown SEATTLE retail — on the Seattle City Maker PODCAST (link below), where I was interviewed by Downtown Seattle Association President/CEO Jon Scholes during the International Downtown Association’s (IDA) recent annual conference in Seattle, drawing in part on my presentation there (see last week’s post for the slide deck). Topics in the podcast include the following as well as others:
1) What are the real causes behind the still-elevated retail vacancy in many of our big-city Downtowns?
2) Why do I remain “cautiously bullish” about retail in Downtown Seattle?
3) What are some possible tenancies for larger-floorplate vacancies, and how many of them are actually viable? (Hint: I’m not so sure about “social darts”…)
4) Does the massive, multi-story flagship store still have a future?
5) What does Twin Peaks have to do with any of this?
I always enjoy talking with Jon, for whom I have great respect, and this, too, was a lot of fun. And while the action shot of me looks like I am yelling at him, I’m not — those who have seen me speak know that I can get pretty animated about this stuff… :)