PITTSBURGH (AP) - After 21 years in Downtown, Denim Xpress on Wood Street recently closed for good, done in partly by online shopping and a lack of foot traffic.
“It’s very hard to compete with Amazon and all the online,” co-owner Eitan Solomon said.
It’s a common refrain these days, as retailers nationally struggle to survive in the face of Internet competition. An analysis by S&P Global Market Intelligence found 14 retailers, including hhgregg and Payless, already have filed for bankruptcy this year compared to 18 in all of 2016.
On the surface, the woes of Denim Xpress and the others would not seem to bode well for efforts to attract more retail to Downtown - whether at the old Macy’s/?Kaufmann’s department store on Smithfield Street, the former Civic Arena site, or other spots.
Nearly two years after buying the Macy’s building, for example, Philadelphia-based Core Realty has yet to announce a single retail tenant for a redevelopment slated to include apartments and a hotel.
Just a few blocks away, McKnight Realty Partners has tried again and again to land a discount chain such as T.J. Maxx or Marshalls to fill vacant retail space in the old Gimbels building.
Despite such struggles, the outlook for retail in the Golden Triangle is not bleak, according to some retail experts. The end result may just have a different look than in the past.
“It probably doesn’t make sense to try to duplicate what is in the suburbs Downtown,” said David Glickman, director of retail services for the Newmark Grubb Knight Frank real estate firm.
“Having some national and regional (chains) Downtown makes sense. What makes the most sense are unique boutiques, specialty retailers, a lot of restaurants, and some clothing stores unique to Downtown.”
The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership already has turned its attention in that direction, hoping to lure shoppers with one-of-a-kind shops, pointing to the success of local operations such as Moop, a Downtown handbags store, and Steel City, an apparel store. In addition, Chas Schaldenbrand, owner on the Heinz Healey’s men’s store on Fifth Avenue, is planning to open a women’s clothing store on Wood Street in the former J.R. Weldin Co. space.
Some brokers still see room for national or regional chains Downtown.
Herky Pollock, CBRE executive vice president and one of the region’s top retail brokers, said moderately priced retailers such as Macy’s, Sears, and J.C. Penney have struggled the most. Discount chains like T.J. Maxx and Marshalls continue to thrive amid the dreary retail landscape, he added.
“I think at some point we will see those retailers Downtown. It’s not a question of if. It’s a question of when,” he said.
Yet McKnight has been trying to no avail to interest both of those chains in the 19,161-square-foot former Office Depot space on Smithfield for at least three years. Now there are indications that the developer may be headed in a different direction.
“We continue to have strong interest from various interesting tenants that will help continue the Smithfield corridor resurgence. We are being carefully selective of the right fit for such a landmark building and location,” said Izzy Rudolph, a McKnight principal.
At One Oxford Centre, new owner Shorenstein Properties has traded most of the skyscraper’s former retail spots for office space and is focused on amenities that serve tenants, such as a food hall, said Jeremy Kronman, the CBRE executive vice president who is handling leasing.
“Multi-story vertical retail is very difficult in New York City with 40 million tourists a year,” he said. “If there are difficulties in New York City, we’re going to have extreme difficulty in Pittsburgh. It’s not where the trends are right now in retail.”
At one time, Core had hoped to recruit tech-oriented and fitness uses as well as “all types” of women’s stores and a grocery in the first two floors to the former Macy’s/?Kaufmann’s space.
More recently, the developer has been talking to a Florida-based entertainment company about building a 12-screen movie theater, a bowling alley, an amusement arcade and restaurants.
“The last thing I heard is that they were in serious negotiations with a large fitness company,” said John Valentine, executive director of the Pittsburgh Downtown Community Development Corp.
Randy Mineo, a Core representative, could not be reached for comment.
The Penguins do not believe the woes of retailers nationwide will impact their plans for the arena site, where they are talking with potential partners about a “destination” retail/?entertainment development that could include amenities including a movie theater or upscale bowling alley. The retail would support the entertainment, not serve as a traditional shopping center.
Valentine is another who believes independent boutiques are the way to go because they provide “a mix the malls don’t have.”
Rather than a liability, the struggles of retailers nationally could serve as an opportunity to “make a truly unique Downtown,” he said. “It’s not just shopping anymore. It’s an experience” that people want.
With the plethora of restaurants that have opened in the last decade, Downtown, in some ways, is ahead of the curve in reinventing itself, Pollock said.
“Every shopping center in the country is trying to inject entertainment and food in their mix to add vibrancy and vitality. Downtown Pittsburgh has over a five-year head start and countless success stories under our belt,” he said.
For Solomon of Denim Xpress, business has been bad for the past four years.
He blames some of that on the closing of Macy’s in 2015 as well as on the growth of online shopping and a loss of foot traffic Downtown.
“The bottom line I would say is, there’s no people Downtown. Everybody comes for a destination. People don’t come to hang around Downtown. You come, do your thing, and leave.”
___
Online:
https://bit.ly/2phRTkC
___
Information from: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, https://www.post-gazette.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.