La Colombe has signed a lease for approximately 1,700
square feet of ground-floor retail space at the Dow building on the corner of
6th and Market streets, completing an overall $20 million reinvestment strategy
for the Independence Mall location. ( See renderings.)
"[That corner] was devoid of any energy; it was
quiet and had nothing going on, yet you were directly across the street from
the park, the Liberty Bell, the Independence Visitors Center and the National
Constitution Center," said Richard S. Gottlieb, senior vice president of
operations and development at Keystone Property Group. "Basically, it was
a pass-through, and it was a quiet corner. ... We saw an opportunity in
that."
La Colombe completes the vision created by a partnership
consisting of Keystone Property Group, Mack-Cali Realty Corp. and Parkway Corp.
to create a new destination and reinvent the pedestrian promenade on
Independence Mall. The investment includes upgrades to the building, the
addition of a 20,000-square-foot permanent beer garden and a parking garage.
The addition of the Philadelphia-based coffee retailer
fills up the first floor of the Dow building. No more additional retailers are
expected in the building.
A national chain showed interest in leasing the space,
but the partnership wanted a local operator.
"It's a Philadelphia story," Gottlieb said.
"And, frankly, having a local operator is hipper and cooler than going
with a national chain."
As part of creating an open space for visitors, the
barricade on the corner of 6th and Market streets will be broken down and
converted into stairs. (See renderings.)
"We're basically walled from the sidewalk; there's a
barrier separating the building, and the sidewalk and the patio area. That was
a style [similar to] Dilworth Plaza [where] it was a big wall separating City
Hall," Gottlieb said. "We want to break down the barriers as best as
we can."
Plans to transform the corner into stairs is going
through the approval process now, with construction targeted for the first
quarter of 2015.
The Independence Mall location is part of the coffee
retailer's aggressive $28.5 million, multi-unit expansion plan. It recently
opened its new flagship facility in Fishtown at 1335 Frankford Ave.
Coffee and Beer ... For the Tourists and Professional Set
When looking at a piece of real estate, Gottlieb said
Keystone imagines what the area can be in the future, how foot traffic can be
increased and what attracts the best tenants and makes for a
"successful" property on a pedestrian and economic level.
"There weren't enough options for people in that
immediate vicinity. If you look at coffee, there's very little alternatives in
a one- or two-block radius from that building. [There were] local business
people walking around everyday, but you've got a huge tourist population there
that didn't have enough options," he said. "These types of places
bring energy both morning and afternoon with the coffee, and then all the way
through until the evening with the beer garden."
The Independence Beer Garden, which opened earlier this
summer, is closed for the colder seasons, but Gottlieb said that won't prevent
the space from becoming a destination.
"There's a lot to be said for closing it down and
saying, 'I'll see you next season,' and creating that anticipation of that new
opening, making it scarce and making people looking forward to it," he
said. "Secondly, it's extremely comfortable environment to be in the
summertime. In the winter, it's just not that comfortable to be out there. It's
better to close and keep it a destination in the warmer months."
The addition of restaurants on Independence Mall is a
"brilliant move," said James Cuorato, president and CEO of the
Independence Visitors Center.
"There are literally hundreds of thousands of people
that walk that block every year. ... It's such a visible block because you have
all of the people that come to the visitors center and the Liberty Bell. A lot
of them leave our building and head right down that block," he said.
"From the standpoint of foot traffic, I'm hard-pressed to think of another
block in the area that offers such an advantage."
Cuorato also said: "To have them across the street
will benefit the visitors who come to the area, especially in the morning. ...
They're going to get a nice mix of office workers, locals and visitors."
Source: Philadelphia
Business Journal
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