Let’s take a poll on development. (Insert excitment here)

I’ve been paying close to attention the fight that currently is going on pertaining to the rezoning of land in the Miller Hill area, especially the land that was recently to be rezoned for the Hampton Inn development by ZMC hotels.

It’s been said now that there are over 365 neighborhood signatures requesting a rezone of the site in the other direction that the original developers wanted to go. Residents are angry because of the statement below of what can be constructed on the site.

The designation currently allows the development of retail businesses less than 15,000 square feet in size, filling stations, restaurants without drive-through windows, hotels, clinics, elementary schools, repair shops, office buildings, apartment buildings, transit stations and government buildings, among other things.

Residents want the site to be rezoned to Mix-Use Neighborhood. Basically what that means is that it would be small businesses that are local that cater strictly to the neighborhood, not the city as a whole. A.K.A. No large traffic drawing developments.

This wasn’t meant to be a full post, but here are my thoughts on this (please feel free to comment on this as I would love to see what conversation comes out of this).

I am all for neighborhoods, but the issue that I see rising is the location of this neighborhood. Obviously the reason that this site is currently zoned what it is is due to the fact that it literally lies directly in the heart of Duluth’s retail area. People seem to forget that this area where this site sits is one of the most sought after development areas in the entire city for retail and that isn’t changing anytime soon. What seems to frustrate me more than anything is that the fact that the city a few years back designated this site as one of the best candidates for retail development in the area. They suggested not rezoning other sites in the area that are currently not zoned for large retail development because they wanted to fill the current spaces first. In fact they designated this site as a prime site for large retail development due to it’s size and the fact that it was one of the largest continuous sites in the area. The Miller Hill Mall area is expected to need at least 400,000 additional square feet of retail within the next five years, let alone we are now trying to rezone the sites that are currently zone to handle that type of development so that they are less trafficked.

What baffles me even more is the fact that people are forgetting that Joshua Avenue is going to be expanded right through the neighborhood in the coming years. Traffic is going to surge even more when that happens, let alone we are trying to fight the type of development that that road is trying to promote. Where will the line be drawn? If residents are upset about the fact that a hotel and a restaurant would have been built on the site, for what reasons then were they not upset about the fact that a large retail center (Stone Ridge Shopping Center) was literally built two blocks farther down and that a major road will be constructed in the their neighborhood.

Where is all the retail going to go? I am never for the displacing of people, but the truth of the matter is, many of these homes are lying on the edge of a growing retail area that is ready to burst at the seams. It will only be a matter of time before the retail area passes Maple Grove Road and starts taking over the neighborhoods. It’s already happening. Take a look farther down Maple Grove Road and you can already find three sites that currently have houses sitting on them that have be rezoned and listed for commercial development.

I could ramble on for hours. Bottom line is, this neighborhood lies next to a extremely large and well populated retail area. The area needs to grow just like every other area in the city. We could have had more jobs (even if they weren’t high paying, they still were jobs) and we could taken a vacant site and spruced it up. To be honest, I think the neighborhood let their best option already pass them by. The Hampton Inn and Suites would have been a nicely constructed building that would have only benefited the area. It would have been a less trafficked site then let’s say a site that held a Jo-Ann Fabrics or a Cost Plus World Market. But hey, we passed up the first great option and now are waiting for the next great one to come around. That is if it does.

This one is going to be an interesting one.

JCPenney rolling out new prototype in Duluth

Not sure how many people out there have noticed the white tarps hanging from the ceiling in the JCPenney store in Duluth quarantining off sections of the store? But if you have, you’ve noticed they are doing a little bit of a remodel. Well, that little remodel is actually quite a substantial one. And yes, Duluth’s JCPenney will be receiving the entire retro fit.

So what’s exactly happening? JCPenney’s one large store will soon become 100 smaller stores with in store, or as some like to refer to it, a “mall”. Work on the first three was completed a few weeks ago. The three new boutiques include a Levi Shop, Arizona Jeans Shop, and I Jeans by Buffalo. So why the shop design? JCPenney was struggling a bit, even after they tried to rebrand with a new logo and sale plan last spring, with the competition from other retailers and the fact that Americans in general were just losing interest in their store. So what did they do to gain a new image and put them on the path of achieving their goal of becoming “America’s Favorite Store.” They decided to specialize their store and offer experiences that would draw customers in.

The new shops come in three styles; A store (1,400 sqf) which usually showcases a larger brand and is usually paid for by the brand, a  shop (750 sqf), and a boutique (under 750 sqf). These new shops do not have doors and our open to the general shopper as they please. It’s more a designation of space that is happening. JCPenney basically is taking the brands they see promise in and putting them in the spot light. The new spaces are quite nice actually. The Levi’s space for instance features special lighting, wood display cases and tables, a “Jean Bar,” and even iPads to help you out in deciphering what the style of best fit may be or allowing you to order a product online. It’s quite a nice setting. The next three shops to debut will be Liz Claiborne, IZOD, and JCP Men’s and Women’s collections and it was just announced that Disney will opening up 1,500 sqf stores within JCPenney in the fall.

I think this transformation will really do quite a bit for JCPenney and especially the Duluth location. It will give them a fresh look that will draw curious shoppers in to see the “new” JCPenney. Hopefully they will revitalize the exterior of the building too, but for the moment all we can do is cross our fingers. JCPenney plans to have all of their locations converted by 2015. The renovation for Duluth’s store will likely be spread out over the course of a year or two.

Just wanted to let you know what was happening. That’s all for now!

Below I’ve included some pictures of what these shops look like across the country at various JCPenney locations.

 

 

The ball starts to roll for new life at the former U.S. Steel Plant

It’s been a topic on many Duluthians minds for the past 30 years on what exactly will happen to the huge 600 acre site in Morgan Park that formerly housed U.S. Steel’s Operations. To be honest, I too have found myself continuing to ask that question and often being unable to find an answer. Many uses have been thrown out there by many different sources. Some suggest creating a new neighborhood on the site, therefore encouraging growth in the Morgan Park area. Some suggest making it a large waterfront resort style development. Others have suggested returning the site to it’s former use as a production facility with the hopes of luring in new tenants. And finally the most recent suggested use of the site, make it the new home of the Minnesota Vikings. As we all know, the last one can be immediately crossed off the board.

Various people lately have been commenting on how they have seen activity at the former site of U.S. Steel. Well, you’re correct in what you’ve seen. However, it might not be the most interesting response that I have for you at the moment. Back in 2010 the Duluth Seaway Port Authority approved the purchase of approximately 123 acres of the cleanest land on the 620 acre site. What the DSPA planned to do with that site is continue to clean it up, while also, with the help of the City of Duluth, extend utilities and infrastructure into the site. This way the site will be more appealing to prospective industrial tenants and far more marketable.

So what you are seeing at the site currently is the beginning signs of the redevelopment that will take place. The DSPA and the City of Duluth feel very strongly in the site that once their portion is cleaned up and the new utilities and infrastructure added in, that it really will help immensely in the revitalization of the site with new tenants. Ikonics Corporation was the first company to relocate to the site when in 2008 it purchased 40 acres of land and built it’s new warehouse.

Now what many people are saying to themselves at the current moment is that even with the help the city is starting to put into the site that it really will not change the fact that tenants are not interested in the site. But truth be told, it could change quite a bit. Currently in Duluth the largest sites for industrial development are limited to 15 acres. This new redevelopment of 123 acres of land at the former U.S. Steel site would finally open the needed space to industrial tenants who have not been able to locate to Duluth because of the limits of land. Once the ball starts to get really moving on the site, I think Duluth could see a whole new life sprout up at the former U.S. Steel site.

How does this relate to commercial development? New jobs = new homes = new/more people = need for retail development.

Maurices makes stake in Duluth for the future.

The news that everyone had seemed to have been waiting for for weeks pertaining to the new 15 story $80 million office building downtown was released yesterday. And unlike the Duluth News Tribune who kind of rudely spoiled the major announcement for the city of Duluth by posting the news 18 hours before the event and then unprofessionally commenting on how they were first to announce it, we waited (not that we are bitter or anything). So here’s the new tenant that will occupy a large portion of Duluth’s newest development.

Maurices Corporation, which is headquartered in downtown Duluth, will be moving a few blocks down the road in 2015 to occupy more than 60% (180,000 sqf) of the over 300,000 square feet at the new 425W office building. The news was announced at a formal gathering yesterday in collaboration with the City of Duluth, the Atwater Group, and Maurices Corporation. Maurices plans to move it’s 385 current employees down the block into the new building in 2015 while also adding 100+ new jobs. This is great news for Downtown Duluth as it secures the growth of the west side of the downtown area which had started to become stagnant in growth. Obviously it’s also wonderful news because we can all rest assured that Downtown Duluth’s largest employer will remain in Duluth for many years to come.

It’s been said that there are also two other companies that plan to locate their offices within the building bringing the occupation close to 100%. The two companies that will fill the remaining space, or a large portion of it, have yet to be formally announced. The two other tenants in the building will be contributing an additional $30 million towards construction (not quite sure as how much each individually is contributing). Thus the breakdown financially be $30 million by Maurices, $30 Million by the two yet to be named tenants, and $20 million from the Atwater Group. Construction is said to hopefully start in the spring of 2013 with completion set for 2015.

What else is good news? It appears that the building still is in the design process and that they are currently working out schematics. It’s been common knowledge since the first announcement of this building that many Duluthians are not happy with the design of the building. They feel as if the building was designed with an 80’s style in mind and wish rather for a more modern and cleaner look to be brought to the western edge of Downtown Duluth. I myself do agree with that. I know that the architect was most likely trying to design the building in a way so that is meshed with it’s surroundings, but I do feel that the design is a little too saturated with design influences from two decades ago and that it really should be more modernized to signal the growth and future that Downtown Duluth is heading for. We want to progress with our image, not regress.

One thing that also has Duluthians upset is the fact that the new project was pitched as bringing 300+ new high paying jobs to Downtown Duluth. This made it sound as if the building was going to house a completely new company that was not already located within the city, or at least downtown. OR, that it would house a company that was expanding to include a new office space while retaining the current space. What many seem to forget though is the fact that Maurices already will add 100 new jobs when they move to the new building and that there is also 40% of free space left in the building. That means there is space for at least 200 more jobs which could all come with a new company or two that are new to the area. So there you go. You’ve got your 300 new jobs, just in a different way than imagined.

Continue to check back to our site within the coming months for updates on not only the design process of the building, but the securing of tenants. And don’t forget about the 600 stall parking ramp beneath the building and “The Shops at Fifth Avenue” retail sector on the first level. There’s bound to be some news with that area as well. Western Downtown Duluth will soon have a whole new image with the addition of 425W!

Battles of the Dollars? Well… not quite.

It’s officially open!

As I’m sure many of you already know, as we are extremely late on this one, but there’s a new Dollar Tree open in Superior! The new 10,000 square foot store located on 3611 Tower Avenue will employ 15 new employees and will be the companies fourth location in the area (well fifth you want to also count the Virginia store).

There’s been a lot of buzz about the new store, not necessarily because of what it will offer… but more so about it’s location. It may look a little awkward at the moment, but it currently appears as if a dollar store battle is going on at the new Dollar Tree location. What am I talking about? The shuttered Dollar Days store that lies directly next door. It may look a little awkward now, but don’t worry. Plans are in the works to have that space filled soon too! We’ll post information here when we figure out more details for you.

 

 

 

Details emerge about new Dick’s Sporting Goods location

It’s official! Well… almost. Dick’s Sporting Goods plans for it’s new location at the Miller Hill Mall are going before the city tonight and hopefully (which there really shouldn’t be any reason they wouldn’t be) be approved for construction to start soon!

We found out from a great forum about the Miller Hill Mall (we’ll attach a link at the end of the post) from the user twinport1 and a follower of our blog that plans are being presented to the city tonight regarding a new Dick’s Sporting Goods location in Duluth. We first reported that the store, which currently has nine Minnesota locations, was scouting out spaces for a new Duluth location a few months back.

Now many people seem to ask themselves the question of “Where in the world would a store that LARGE go in the Miller Hill Mall? There simply isn’t room!). One word.. consolidation. Current plans include not only the consolidation of the current St. Louis County Service Center, Schmidt Music, but also the former half of Old Navy that was vacated this past year when they downsized and remodeled their current store. Now if’ you’re thinking that that doesn’t seem like it is quite enough space for a Dick’s Sport Goods location… well, you’re correct. So to make up for that a 26,000 square foot addition will be built onto the back side of DSW.

So what does this mean for the mall portion of the redevelopment and expansion?

The entrance that currently is at the end of the hallway will remain, and Dick’s will build it’s store outwards so that it will be flush with the end of the current DSW space. That means that the exterior space of the current mall entrance will almost become an extended hallway… but outside.

Dick’s Sporting Goods will have TWO entrances, one exterior and one interior.

They plan to do a complete renovation of the space. It’s an extremely well looking design and the interior store front looks just as great!

Bottom line. This redevelopment and addition of Dick’s Sporting Goods is going to do wonders for the Miller Hill Mall.

I’ve attached the link to the city file to see the the site plans and the renderings. And be sure to check out this great Miller Hill Mall discussion forum.

Click to access 12-138StaffReportandAttachments.pdf

http://www.city-data.com/forum/duluth/245832-thoughts-about-miller-hill-mall-84.html

Get excited! New post tomorrow!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted! Look for an article tomorrow about the new Dollar Tree store in Superior and possibly another exciting development in the Duluth area!