CityPlace mall, the five floor mid-Market retail structure that Mayor Gavin Newsom says will “activate one of the most blighted blocks of Market Street,” appears to be well on the road to reality, following Tuesday’s thumbs-up from the Board of Supervisors.
However, in the words of one Appeal reader, “who wants to rent retail space there? Or go there, for that matter, when Westfield is a block away?”
The answers to those questions, if the SF Biz Times and Chronicle are to be believed: discount stores and people who want to buy stuff sold at discount stores.
Ahem! Or should I say “value-based” retailers, as that’s the term used by both publications to describe the stores the city is wooing to fill the space?
While neither publication could name names of companies that are in talks or have signed agreements to rent in the 265,000-square-foot building planned for the sketchy stretch of Market between 5th and 6th, the Biz Times speculates that stores renting space in the mall could include TJ Maxx, JCPenney, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Big 5 Sporting Goods, and Bed Bath & Beyond, and that stores already nearby like the Container Store and Ross might move from their current locations to the new space.
“We’re also looking at bringing in new names and larger-format retailers who have had a hard time positioning themselves in San Francisco,” the president of the retail development consultant handling the lease negotiations told the Chron.
“It’s going to give the off price guys a safe haven in a hostile city.” Retail West president Matt Holmes told the Biz Times.
I can’t really speak on shopping — not unsurprisingly, this Internet Cybernews Business does not lead to the kind of dough that one can blow on shopping sprees. And since my work in the Internet Cybernews Business means I rarely leave the house, I suppose that is no big!
So, readers, I must rely you to comment or vote in this here poll (sorry, RSS users, you can’t see it!) to help give perspective on if this is a great or terrible plan for ths space.
Will discount stores like those speculated on by the Biz Times enough to inspire you to brave 6th and Market? Or will they be a welcome oasis just past high end retail playground of Union Square? Let’s hear it.
