Would business owners who can't afford high rents in their existing locations be willing to consider relocating to Western Ave?
Obviously the foot traffic and cachet isn't comparable, but a Western Ave storefront would be highly visible to the thousands who drive through Allston and ample parking is available.
If the rent was thousands of dollars a month less, would anyone try this?
Wouldn't it be great if Harvard were actively trying to recruit some of these businesses to its many vacant buildings in Allston and Brighton?
Dude - you must be taking advantage of the new marijuana laws, because you're smoking way too much if you think stores on Newbury St. will relocate to Western Ave!
ReplyDeleteYep, Louis Boston and Channel are going to enter into a bidding war for a storefront on Western Ave...only to be sniped at the last second by Burberry!!!
Even if they did, you'd complain they're not doing enough for the local community by carrying lower priced products, disgorging themselves of all their profits to donate to charity, and featuring locally hand knitted sweaters from some senior center.
I think you are getting a bit carried away and missing the larger point of this. One attitude would be to concede that this is a terrible economic climate for retail businesses and it will be years until we might see any new tenants interested on Western Ave.
ReplyDeleteAnother way to think about it is that there are established businesses run by experienced people who can't afford their current overhead (rent, etc) and might be interested in downsizing while staying in business. Moving to a new location where the rent is much lower could be a possibility.
Nice how you can't resist taking a shot at Harvard in your post, no matter the subject matter.
ReplyDeleteHarvard owns virtually all the commercial property in North Allston and North Brighton and, with the exception of Mahoney's, hasn't done much of anything in the past several years to create the "main street" that it promised in the North Allston Strategic Framework.
ReplyDeleteSo why it is unfair to mention Harvard when talking about business activity or lack thereof on Western Ave?
Even Allston Village could benefit. Of course there is no desire to become "upscale", but the restaurant turnover is quite high, and there is a desire for more non-restaurant/bar businesses. I wouldn't mind some mid-priced businesses moving in.
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