posted by Mike Madison at 11:54 AM /
I've posted here before about the growing hipster quotient in Bellevue: Why Can't Mt. Lebanon Be More Like Bellevue?
The Mt. Lebanon residents who put out Pop City got the message. Check out today's Pop City feature, The Business Boomlet in Bellevue.
The Mt. Lebanon residents who put out Pop City got the message. Check out today's Pop City feature, The Business Boomlet in Bellevue.
Labels: economic development
5 Comments:
I think you get the hipster's where the real estate is cheap. Greg and I would love to buy property here in Mt. Lebanon and work hard to make it a vibrant town, but truthfully we can't afford any of it.
I'm unclear what you're for in this situation. Businesses, which Lebo seems to have more than enough of? Or hipsters, who are basically trend follow morons of a young age?
I don't agree that Lebo has enough businesses, or enough of the right kind of businesses. As Linda wrote, commercial property in town is disproportionately expensive -- both to buy and to rent. There's a lot of vacant space on Washington Road; why haven't prices and rents come down? A full mixed-use building is better for the community than a half-empty high-end building, in my book at least, and it's likely better for the bank, too. (So, I'm talking win-win on the financial side, not just for the latte-drinking crowd.) "Hipster" is a vibe, not necesssarily a group of people. Most of the folks I know who patronize Lincoln Ave. businesses (Affogato, Vivo, etc.) are middle-aged, not 20-something. There's cash on the table. Lebo should grab some of it. I'll save more for a main post sometime, but here's a teaser for now: Lebo's hiring Dan Woodske as commercial districts manager is a good sign.
Mike, I think you're painting with a really broad brush. Is there empty commercial space in Lebo, sure. Show me a town like ours that has none. Also, it's not all overpriced as you suggest. For example, my sister-in-law rents space for her office in one of our more populated business districts at a phenomenal rate. It's there if you want it.
My family has been involved in the Mt. Lebanon retail world since about 1983 - once on Beverly and once on Washington. Both stores were wildly popular with their respective customers and both drew customers from well beyond our borders.
Unfortunately, Lebo has in the past and continues to burdened with a couple commercial property owners who choose to do nothing to fill their great space. They don't maintain it, they're slow to respond to tenant complaints, and generally oppose any additional investment for the betterment of the district as a whole. And I would agree with Linda that some of their sales prices are insane. Or better yet, they won't even sell you one of their buildings unless you agree to buy another one (that you don't want or need) as a package. I don't know if Mr. Woodske can make them open up their wallets - we've had someone in his capacity in the past.
Similarly, as far as retail is concerned don't discount for a second the impact of having the Galleria in our backyard and South Hills Village only a couple of yards over.
Superstores and chains are - unfortunately - the way of the world. I would use Shadyside as Exhibit A. Gone are the independent businesses that once populated Walnut Street, and in their places we have Ann Taylors, Banana Republics, Max & Ermas and Pottery Barns. It is cost prohibitive and virtually impossible to compete with one of them for the same customers, even if you're operating rent free. I don't think that's an excuse, just a reality of the times.
All that said, I believe (and I'm sure many would agree) that our business districts are flourishing compared to years past. Can they grow? Sure (just no more coffee, please!!) However, retail opportunities currently exist in Lebo that never did before, and I also sense that more and more professional offices are being opened by those folks that don't have to be Downtown. That's all good.
To pick up on your point, what types of businesses would you like to see? I'm very curious.
Dave,
Broad brush? Yes.
Is retail in Mt. Lebanon more successful, more diverse, more interesting, and more useful than it has been in a long time? Yes on just about all counts, I think.
You agree with me, though, that there is more that can be done, and I hope you agree that there is never a reason to be complacent. You're right that Uptown and Beverly Road compete with two malls, and this makes Lebo retail an especially challenging prospect. But it's not impossible, and Mt. Lebanon isn't unique in facing these challenges. Yes, BTW, I know that Dan is filling an existing position. I also know that there are some changes coming to Washington Road that haven't yet hit the news.
As for what things I'd like to see on Washington Road, that's a conversation that we had here at Blog-Lebo more than a year ago. Here's the link. If anything significant has changed, I can revive the topic in a main post.
For what it's worth, I'm only partly interested in the hip-ness quotient (since I don't know how much more hip-ness traditional Mt. Lebanon can take), and I'm only partly interested in more function (Rollier's already offers a fabulous functional hardware store). I'm mostly interested in raising commercial property values, and taxing them at market rates, so that a little bit less of the town's overall tax burden falls on residential property owners.
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