Potential Street-Level Retail Space Along Ponce
September 7, 2008 | 5:24 pm
To go along with the Masonic Temple building, which once sported street-level retail, but no longer does, it seems that One Town Center (at the northwest corner of Ponce and Church) also was originally designed to incorporate street-level retail.
From the Town Center Plan Goals Page…
“The Candler Hotel block was developed as proposed and includes two new office buildings and retains the block of retail properties that house Mick’s, By Hand South and the Masonic Temple building. The office building was designed to have retail use on the ground floor in the future. (1985)”
I wonder what city-wide rents/demand would have to be to motivate these property owners to make the necessary renovations so we could have one continuous thread of retail along Ponce all the way from Clairemont to Church.
Probably need to fill some of the existing vacancies first ……
Indeed Steve. Just pointing out the possibilities.
I would suggest that GA Power does constitute retail; it may not be a boutique, but it is a payment/customer service facility specifically designed for use by the public (as opposed to say, The Emory Clinic).
I use the Ga Power office to pay my bill on a walk-in basis and it’s nearly always busy, so it does generate some downtown walking traffic. It may not be retail per se, but it sort of acts that way.
I doubt Ga power would go anywhere if they created retail space there.
To me that seems logical to put retail space there…what is the vacancy rate downtown anyways?
As a land owner I would say: More rent!
As a resident I would say: More taxes (for the city)
As a shopper I would say: More diverse shopping
I dont know why as a land owner they wouldnt make it retial anyway. They are making absolutly NO money on it as it is so why not. THere wouldn’t be a huge capital investment to make it retail.
I assume that they are talking about enclosing the space between the pillars to create retail space (thus not displacing any other business)? If that is the case there is really no reason not to do it. Add some life to the street, its kinda dead.
New, I believe the area around the pillars is intended to stay as is. Instead, the first floor is designed as flex-space. Right now, looking at the building, there’s office space on the left ground floor side (don’t know what business(es) though). Should demand dictate, their sidewalk windows would be retrofitted with retail frontage and the interior space would be carved up according to how the leased space shook out.
Kind of like the Masonic building in reverse, where they changed a retail frontage to an office frontage.
I am always supprised when developers waste leasable square footage (ie under the pillars between the face of glass and the pillars). There is no reason that could not be utilized. It is really quite a dead zone.
I dont see the point in changing it to retail then really…like Steve said, fill vacancies first.
Great find DM!