At the recent Commercial Real Estate Council Forecast, a question was asked about the prospects for retail on Park Avenue downtown. It’s a good idea as it would add a vibrancy to downtown life and provide an anchor to the eclectic mix of retail that we currently have downtown. Downtown retail is an important part of any city, but it doesn’t happen overnight. For a city of our size, we still have a relatively small number of people living downtown and a smaller downtown workforce, both of which work against retail. However, that is changing with about 1,500 apartment units under construction and more on the drawing board, including a possible high rise. Several of our large downtown employers are hiring (or at least were until oil went below $50 per barrel); and, the two new office towers that are set to start construction later this year (OGE & 499 Sheridan) will add to the number of workers downtown. But, it will take several years to reach the critical mass needed to draw mainstream national retailers to downtown. In the meantime, that means we grow more organically…a small shop here, a new national restaurant there…and, over time, we end up with a more visible and desirable downtown retail presence. This manner of growth, though not sexy, is probably healthier and better in the long-term than trying to force it to happen more quickly.
So, back to Park Avenue. Several things need to happen to make it the downtown hub of retail. First is a coordinated effort between building owners and the City to reserve first-floor space for retail and re-work storefronts to orient them to the street, to in essence make them retail spaces. This will be expensive in many cases and could very well require incentives or a creative public-private partnership. I believe that the spaces need to be there before the retail recruiting will yield significant results. Some of this work could be done in conjunction with the Project 180 redo of Park Avenue, although that might be a too aggressive time frame. Few retailers are going to want to make the leap until the street is done. Another issue that will need to be resolved is the ownership of First National Center. Much of the available retail space will be in this building; significant progress in making Park Avenue a retail street will require cooperation and commitment from the First National owner.
Park Avenue retail will take time, a commitment of resources and buy-in by building owners, but with all the good taking place downtown now is the time to start the process.
