Many wonder how Annapolis will survive as a commercial/shopping destination with massive retail developments at its edge, or are we now the edge? Recently, the Annapolis Economic Development Department sponsored a panel called "COMPETITORS OR COLLABORATORS: DOWNTOWN & EDGE RETAIL DEVELOPMENT" with The Maryland Downtown Development Association (MDDA). Panel members included the president of Commerce First Bank – Annapolis, the developer of Annapolis Town Center at Parole, the general manager of Annapolis Westfield Mall and the president of the Annapolis Downtown Business Association
The first question I have is:
WHY WOULD YOU HOLD SUCH A PANEL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EXTREMELY BUSY AND CRUCIAL HOLIDAY SHOPPING SEASON?????
( It might make some shopkeepers shake their heads and sigh)
Annapolis must "capitalize" on being a unique and attractive state capital. What makes us special is our boats, history, scenery, the waterfront, unique shops, walking, and sightseeing. You can call a place a Towne Centre--it's anything but that. As for a mall, why do you think they are called malls! While one can talk collaboration and there may be areas of mutual benefit, Annapolis can derive its sustainability only from that uniqueness. If it can do that AND collaborate, that's fine. But it must be Annapolis first.
Speaking of which, how can we talk cooperation if we can't even properly manage our own Market House? Maybe we should ask Greenberg Development to take it over?
The Annapolis Towne Centre seeks to suck everything out of the real Annapolis by free-riding on its image. Just visit their web-site complete with their nautical-looking compass rose:
"Welcome to the New Centre of It All
It’s everything extraordinary — all in one sensational destination. A beautiful new Towne Centre where you can shop, dine, live, work and play.
Annapolis Towne Centre is so much more than a mall or a shopping center. It’s every way possible to put yourself on the fashion forefront. Every imaginable fine and fun food. Everything you need to make your home and your life more beautiful. With luxury condominiums and apartments, you can even make it your home.
Come discover the new Centre of It All."
How do we cooperate with a place that takes from us, including our name and say it is all in "one sensational destination"? That is to say, our destination-the eal Annapolis is not even in the picture.
They even took a full page ad in the program guide for the upcoming Holiday Boat Lights Parade. See lightsparade . Since they can't have such a parade they'll suck what they can out of this real community event. While the city's Economic Development Department and the Annapolis Business Association did not buy an ad, the Eastport Business Association did. I still wonder why are there so many different business associations in Annapolis and how does this hinder our mutual urban goals? To be fair, the city does support the parade in other ways but the Towne Centre bought the huge ad. In other words--the city attracts people because it is special....the towne centre plays upon that to attract them to buy at their towne center, rather than downtown, or downe towne.
Their web-site also says, "Getting to the Centre of It All--It’s convenient from everywhere. Located in Annapolis, Maryland at Town Center Boulevard, Annapolis Towne Center is minutes from the historic district and a short drive from Washington, D.C. and Baltimore." Yeah sure. Unless there's traffic, but why would there be traffic? How about because of huge development???
This is the part that gets me rolling over, as quoted from the local newspaper:
"To tie the shopping areas together, Mr. Miron (Annapolis Economic Development Director) said he's planning to speak with city transportation officials about running a continuous shuttle between the three retail hubs."
Miron and other officials have discussed such ideas more times than the number of gift-wrapped trinkets you can stuff into a shopping bag. What we did was build and build in the county without any plans for transportation and threw up parking garages everywhere. We ignored public transit and ignored our own bus system. Now we expect to ask the tiny, neglected, and mismanaged CITY bus system to solve your COUNTY and CITY problem. Just like all the plans--small area plans, general development plans, transportation vision and master plans...more talk. We have enough unmet mobility needs for city residents, many of whom depend upon our buses. Now we should give more service to the county's big-pocket developers? There's hardly enough money to keep our bus system going yet it should do more?
LET'S ASK THE MALL DEVELOPERS TO:
PUT BUS STOPS WITH PULL-OUTS and SHELTERS AT THEIR MAIN ENTRANCES
To partner with our bus system and to promote and advertise transit
To subsidize all their employees so they can ride for free.
But, if they were interested in buses, how come they HAVE NEVER done this? They have been asked, and the answer is...they don't really want buses in their centers, or centres. They want to pretend they are suburban, yet they call themselves shoppingtownes and towne centres. Can you hear the great sucking sound....?
See Parole Triangle and also the other regional newspaper weighed in a day or two later at The Sun's Take.. taking the whole shuttle idea a step further and even quoting the vp of the Annapolis Business Association as saying "The locals are not going to ride a public transit system, and I don't think downtown needs to ship its tourists to the mall". Well of course not, as long as business leaders focus on parking supply while ignoring the fundamental transportation issue and then poo-poohing our bus system, how will we ever progress??? But she seems to ignore what our bus system could be and what it could mean....but they'd rather argue about parking.
p.s. we got some good posts on this one..check 'em out below...
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6 Comments:
Downtown has at least one thing that the Annapolis Town Center lacks and that is publicly accessible waterfront strolls. Therefore, it can be said to be " at the edge" . But in other ways Downtown lost its edge a long time ago.
I usually enjoy Downtown only during cold rainy days when only the edgy are there.
Schmoe Just one question--how do you keep regular? Seriously, you are now hereby officially inducted into CP's Hall of Fame. As such you are invited to write regular column-length posts. What say ye? You may respond directly to me....either way, keep edgy....
Shmoe is right. In my opinion, the waterfront is about all downtown has going for itself. Unless you're a restaurant (thank heaven Phillips is finally on its way out) or a bar, it's going to be hard to attract a lot of customers. Downtown is a lot of run-of-the-mill specialty shops pretending to be a lot more important than they really are. There are some genuinely good businesses mixed in, but most people would much rather skip the hassle of West street (it's downtown driving that sucks in Annapolis--NOT parking) and give their business to national chain retailers that don't have the self important attitude or price markup than face the quagmire that is downtown shopping.
Downtown's shopping district needs an overhaul. I don't think you can have a tourist destination full of knicknack shops and high end fashion and specialty retailers in the same space--it's like serving fillet minion on a toilet seat, and that's really a good way to describe the downtown shopping experience.
Dear Jeff
You too may now join CP"s Hall of Fame. Thanks for the comment--and for not being anonymous. I love the piece about filet mignon on a toilet seat. LOL!!!..and what about the market house???
I'vetaken the bus from downtown Annapolis to the malls that ring the city. It would be nice if the bus drivers actually stopped at stops when someone is there. and it would be nice of the bus stops at the malls were actually near the stores, not the outside edge of the parking lot. The only one that seems like a reasonable stop is the one in front of whole foods. But it's poorly marked and bus drivers cannot see if there's anyone waiting.
Tom If you are ever waiting at a stop and a bus passes you by, you must report it to the transportation dept and make sure there is followup. Run after the bus and bang on it if you have to.
Malls do not want stops near their stores. Harbour Center was different and I worked personally to ensure we had decent and well-marked stops. It is not poorly marked as you assert. The Lerner Corp is more predisposed to transit than are other major mall developers. Stops are located at Whole Foods and Office Depot. There are brick columns and if waiting customers do not look for the bus and wave or step forward from behind the column when it arrives--and the buses must creep through there slowly-so how is a driver supposed to know if the customer is not being obvious? You think it is bade at the mall here--try Arundel Mills! This is my point--mall developers do not generally want transit--so Mr. Miron needs a lot of luck with his idea.
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