Having just leased out three, brand-new retail spaces at The Place on Ponce in Downtown Decatur, Redstone Properties President, Lyle Fogarty, may currently have one of the best vantage points to report on the state of the city’s retail real estate market.
In a recent press release, Mr. Fogarty noted that “The demand for retail space in Decatur was greater than we projected,” He continued, “It is clear that restaurant owners and retailers recognize the uniqueness of the area and its value.”
I was curious for find out a bit more detail as to what this demand looked like, so I followed up. His response should be quite interesting to many of you who like to follow and offer predictions on Decatur commercial real estate trends.
We simply had demand from many more tenants than the 10,000 sf of space could accommodate. By far, the most demand came from restaurants. We could have filled up 30,000 sf with restaurants if we had the space (and parking).
There was some demand for soft goods and apparel, but many of those retailers like to congregate together and need more critical mass to help them be successful. If a location could be identified in Downtown where a developer could build 50,000 or more square feet of modern retail space, there’s sufficient demand from shop tenants to make a vibrant retail district in Downtown in addition to the renowned restaurant scene.
So basically, even though the restaurant market may already seem pretty saturated in Decatur, it sounds like we shouldn’t expect it to ease up anytime soon. Also, for those expecting a greater variety of clothing stores in the city, you may need to wait for a very large project to come in and provide the necessary space to allow a “critical mass”.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see if any of the current projects in development (Arlo, Alexan Decatur residential only!) or planned (Calloway, Avondale MARTA Station) will make a move in this direction.
Are the owner’s of the old Ruby Tuesday space asking a fortune or is it not turnkey like I would expect? Don’t understand why it’s been empty for forever if there’s such a high demand for space.
THAT is what I’d like to know as well! Seems like such a lost opportunity.
The Ruby Tuesday space was complex as the restaurant still had a good number of years on the lease. As such, it involved a sublease agreement that the landlord could also agree to. A healthcare company has signed on and will be moving in.
http://www.decaturmetro.com/2015/03/19/health-care-company-close-to-leasing-ruby-tuesdays-space/
I remember reading that which is why I was curious the space wasn’t leased for a restaurant before then. Do you happen to know why Ruby Tuesday failed in the first place?…(other than the horrible menu, lol)
National chains don’t seem to do well in Decatur. We are spoiled with so many great homegrown restaurant options. McDonalds, Chic-Fil-A and even Jeni’s seem to be the only exceptions.
“Do you happen to know why Ruby Tuesday failed in the first place?…(other than the horrible menu, lol)”
Walk by there on an almost daily basis, and when it was still RT, there was never more than a few tables occupied, especially at dinner. But their failures aren’t specific to that location. RT and the other casual national chains like it have been struggling for years as people with disposable income seek more interesting, chef-driven options.
This location was particularly bad. After my son receiving some totally spoilt milk, we stopped going there altogether.
50,000sf of commercial will be hard to do downtown. Maybe Calloway or the Avondale mixed-use redevelopments can capture that much space. But Arlo and Alexan are already under construction with Alexan 100% residential correct? The Arlo is a similar product to the Place on Ponce, maybe 4-5 commercial spaces with at least two restaurants.
You’re right about Alexan. I keep making that mistake.