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Originally Posted by HooverDam
^ The downtown grocery store obsession is bizarre. No one is not moving to downtown because there's not a grocery store. Retail follows roof tops, when enough people live downtown, magically, a grocery store will appear. Lets focus our energy on dramatically increase downtown residential density, everything else will follow.
I worry this grocery store obsession could lead to a company speculatively putting a grocery downtown, it failing, and then it being even longer before we get a stable grocery store. A lot of community members are pushing Lennar homes to work with Sprouts (who wants a Central Phx location) to put in a grocery at Central/McDowell. That could really hurt the chances of an actual "downtown" grocery store, as no one is putting one south of the I-10 with the Sprouts and Safeway so nearby until residential density is way, way higher than it currently is.
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I think a grocery store is an easy concept for people to grab onto that signifies the legitimacy of downtown. Downtown is also not attracting residential at the rate of other urban areas in AZ, which leaves people questioning whether the reverse might need to happen in that submarket: rooftops following retail.
I agree with your analysis that any traditional grocer downtown will fail right now; the DeSoto Market opening this fall is basically what the public market should've been/could've evolved into had it opened years later, and I would hope that it receives full support from the community because it's not only a place for residents to buy local ingredients, but a place for local farmers/businesses to be seen, a place for citizens to bring friends from out of state, etc. A traditional grocer nearby would eat it alive, and within a year, we'd be back to square one.
The Lennar project needs something that brings the community together, a cafe or bar 'where everyone knows your name' and arts-related venue (theater or what not) are more compatible long-term. Build one in the lots of Park Central...