The Casbah, 803 Mass., closed in January and will be the site of a grocery store. Mark Buhler, senior broker with Stephens Real Estate, said there seems to be a somewhat higher vacancy level downtown than at this time last year, and certainly more turnover.
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Take a drive down Massachusetts Street, and you can see a new or vacant business on practically each block of the downtown area.
In the 700 block, the Fields Gallery - a longtime fixture downtown - has closed. In the 800 block, renovations are under way at the location of the Casbah, which will soon become a small grocery store. In the 900 block, Qdoba has closed. Some vacant storefronts have been occupied, while others remain the way they were some years ago, like the old antique store near Harbour Lights.
Mark Buhler, senior broker with Stephens Real Estate, said there seems to be a somewhat higher vacancy level downtown than at this time last year, and certainly more turnover.
"Any time you deal with small business, they're the barometers of the economy," Buhler said. "We've had a long, hard winter, and we really haven't had one of those in a long time. It's been very difficult for retailers downtown."
Buhler said he doubted that location affected turnover. Instead, he said, when most businesses downtown close, it's simply because they can't survive the current market. There's competition from the Internet, discount retailers and other places.
"Some things need to happen with parking to help all those businesses compete," Buhler said.
Rick Marquez, director of Downtown Lawrence Inc., said the biggest problem with parking is all the talk of a parking problem. Marquez said his group would take time in the next few months to help educate customers about parking options.
Marquez said the last few months have been fairly good for downtown, with his group seeing some growth.
"Our membership is up from the year before," he said. "When I walk up and down the street, though I see vacancies, they're the same ones I saw when I came here" in October 2005.
Another particular challenge in Lawrence is the collection of retail stores, entertainment venues and office space, which provide for a mix of uses and abuses.
"It's been evolving over time into what it's become," Buhler said. "It's a destination. I try to go downtown on purpose."
Safety issues
The past year also has seen more high-profile instances of crime in the downtown area. A man was shot and killed outside the Granada, 1020 Mass., in February 2006, and gunshots rang out inside Last Call that May. The block that is home to Last Call - the 700 block of New Hampshire Street - also has seen at least 16 guns, including an AK-47, seized from cars during the night and early-morning hours, according to court records.
More recently, police responded to a gun-pointing incident that occurred shortly after 2 a.m. March 25 in the 700 block of Massachusetts Street.
Kansas University cornerback Aqib M. Talib was riding in a truck driven by former KU football player Mark F. Simmons when it was backed out of a parking space and then was surrounded by a crowd. Aubrey E. Gilbert, 23, of Lawrence, allegedly pointed a gun at Talib. Gilbert was struck and run over by the truck, according to police accounts.
Police later found Gilbert sitting in a nearby vehicle, and he told them he didn't want medical treatment. He allegedly became uncooperative with officers and was arrested and booked into the Douglas County Jail. He was charged with felony aggravated assault and freed on $10,000 bond.
Buhler and Marquez both dismissed the idea that instances of crime would have any noticeable effect on businesses choosing to leave downtown or customers choosing to patronize the businesses.
"I don't know if it has anything to do with downtown doing well or not," Marquez said. "It seems to be concentrated in one area."
Protecting a tradition
Marquez said city government seems to have a handle on those problems and is preparing to address them, and that he didn't want to see any regulations that could adversely affect Lawrence's live music scene.
"It's the best live music scene in the Midwest," he said. "We've got something for somebody all the time."
Buhler said the biggest hurdle to the market also is its biggest strength. The high rents and property taxes are a direct effect of the high - and stable - real estate prices in the area.
"What should we put in to be profitable? That's the $64,000 question," Buhler said.
Comments
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Phillbert (anonymous) says…
The best way to help downtown? Build another massive shopping area as far away from downtown as you can get, say, at 6th Street and the SLT! At least that's what the new city commission thinks.
classclown (Class Clown) says…
How about we throw lots more tax dollars at it?
Or we can put those dollars in a big pile and set a match to it.
classclown (Class Clown) says…
"It's been evolving over time into what it's become," Buhler said. "It's a destination. I try to go downtown on purpose."
==============================================
Does anyone go there by accident?
That's like saying "I try to go to my job on purpose".
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (anonymous) says…
"How about we throw lots more tax dollars at it?"
That's certainly what's going to happen with the new development at 6th and SLT.
Sigmund (anonymous) says…
lower rents will fill vacancies you greedy downtown landlords.
Godot (anonymous) says…
Downtown would have to transform into a mall with Dillards on one end and Nordstrom on the other, with lots of clothing, jewelry, gifts and electronic stores in between in order to survive as a shopping destination.
Downtown is becoming an entertainment district. Let it happen.
Godot (anonymous) says…
Marion, you are welcome.
denak (anonymous) says…
I moved to Lawrence a little over 10 years ago. There are very few stores on Mass that are still there since then. If people want Mass. street to survive, they should do two things.
1) Lower the rent. This has already been stated but I can't tell you how many times I have talked to store owners done there who have said that the rent is outrageous.
2) Put a clothing store down there that doesn't cater to the 0-6 crowd. The average woman in the U.S. wears a size 14 but you won't find any store down there that sells clothes that size. Every store down there caters to the college crowd. If you are over 30 and wear anything over a size 8, why would you go down there?
Women, primarily, are the ones who shop down there so make it more "average woman" friendly and more women will shop there. Right now, it is easier to go to south lawrence and shop.
Dena
Godot (anonymous) says…
Agree, Dena.
I am repeating what others have said, but rent is high partly because taxes are high. Another reason rent is high is because the property values are high.
Commercial property is an investment. If you buy a building for $300,000, and taxes on the building are $9,000 per year, as is the case in downtown Lawrence, you have to charge at least $24,000 per year in rent to make the investment minimally worthwhile.
Sigmund (anonymous) says…
I don't disagree, but don't you have to pay property taxes regardless of the income the building generates? Wouldn't it be worthwhile to have some income to offset some taxes? Is it possible that be leaving the building empty it is an attempt to have its value lowered for tax purposes?
lunacydetector (anonymous) says…
this is what an expert told me about the downtown......the downtown doesn't have the traffic counts to justify the high rents. for decades downtown used to be the cheapest place to rent for a business.
a few years ago, some businesses (most of which are out of business now) were convinced to pay high rents downtown. after all the national economy was booming and interest rates were super low. the high rents drove the appraised values, so property owners could refinance their buildings for a much greater amount than what their actual true values should've been - but the tenants were paying high dollar, so who knew at the time? the county followed suit by jacking up the property values on everyone. most have discovered that the businesses cannot survive paying the high rents to cover a much higher mortgage payment for the landlord and now the much higher taxes, but it doesn't matter, the county appraiser is not about to drop the values of these over valued and now vacant properties and a bank is not about to lower the amount the landlord borrowed. it doesn't matter if they are crap or gold, they are all way over valued.
Only 9,500 vehicles drive down massachusetts daily. Compare that to 25-30,000 vehicles on other major thoroughfares in town. the rents in the other higher traffic areas are cheaper than the downtown. the way the rents stand right now doesn't justify locating downtown.
why do most of the national retailers locate away from congested downtowns? because 30 or so years ago, they realized the customers want convenience - quick and easy access to their stores with plenty of free parking. smart growth doesn't work, regardless of how many planning professors drill this philosophy into their students' young and impressionable heads.
Sigmund (anonymous) says…
Thanks LD, that makes a lot of sense.
Godot (anonymous) says…
Sigmund, my guess is that the library/redevelopment proposal was hatched to bail out the very property owners Lunacydetector describes....at taxpayer expense.
Sigmund (anonymous) says…
Godot, no doubt about that, not to mention a peace offering, prior to the April election, to the "developturds" (as my favorite PLC supporter is know for snickering) for their support (or at least muting their opposition) of the PLC continued dominance of the Commission.
As you know, reports of the death of the $30 million library are premature as they are choosing the site as we speak. I think they are hoping they can convince three of the five to support the plan. I think they can put a fork in it and that any Commissioner who believes they can hitch their wagon to this boondoggle and not be permanently shunned in Lawrence is in for a big surprise.
dorothyhr (Dorothy Hoyt-Reed) says…
I've been shopping downtown since the 70's. Stores have always come and gone. Is the turnover really any more than before?