Quote:
Originally Posted by skyhigh07
Yeah, sounds like they opened at the worst possible time sadly. I also agree with the article that it wasn’t exactly in an “A+ location”. Even with all of the development and things reopening on N Broad, it still feels a bit “tumbleweedy”. That being said, Spring Garden west of Broad started bustling after LVL North and the new Giant opened. It’s getting to be at CC levels.
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Here's the problem with N. Broad: too many institutional type establishments that don't exactly drive a lot of foot traffic and activity. Starting at City Hall...
Municipal Services Building and that awful plaza. They can redo the plaza for sure, but with Love Park and Dilworth Park right there, it feels like another park/plaza is the last thing this area needs. Across the street, there's the Masonic Temple and a church - beautiful buildings but they don't really activate the street, unless you count the homeless who hang by the church. It's likely this block of N. Broad will be forever dead.
The next block is better with the aloft hotel, the Convention Center, and PAFA but still not exactly a thriving, vibrant block either.
As you go further up, there are garages, a few shabby office/medical buildings, parking lots, what used to be Hahneman Hospital. The retail offerings for this stretch include a McDonalds (still open?), a Walgreens, a nondescript pizzeria, a 7-11, and the PAFA shop (which seems to maintain erratic hours).
And then you hit Vine Street. Ironically, it's after Vine Street where they seems to be some momentum but there's still too many holes (parking lots, that giant data center, Roman Catholic High, etc.) that prevent a critical mass from forming and being able to support a contiguous string of retail and dining. That data center in particular is awful - wish they could include some ground floor retail there but I get it that there's not enough pedestrian traffic.