If you've been wondering when downtown would start getting some retail, here's your answer and you won't like it. In a recent OBJ article, downtown Creative Village developer Craig Ustler said downtown will not become a "major retail destination." Yes it'll have coffee shops and bars, but it won't have Banana Republic says the city-shaping mogul:
"I don't want anybody to think that any of us are talking about downtown becoming a major retail destination as much as we are it's an integral part of the lifestyle as an urban amenity," Ustler said. "It doesn't ultimately take up a ton of square footage. It just really provides a lifestyle balance to what will largely be — because the young, smart creative people that are starting companies and what not, they drink coffee and beer, walk their dog and do that kind of stuff, so that's what you're going to react to, more than just saying, 'Hey we're going to build a Banana Republic because somebody wants to buy a shirt.' That is not what's going to happen in urban environments more or less. It's going to be totally lifestyle-based and really be an urban amenity to a larger division."
