  Genesyxx Member Username: Genesyxx Post Number: 608 Registered: 02-2004 |
First, the YMCA builds inside the RenCen, even though it's a People Mover ride away, now Au Bon Pain is set to open up, being a measly 3 blocks away. WTF?! | ||
Spidergirl Member Username: Spidergirl Post Number: 234 Registered: 12-2004 |
Just like Chicago - a gym, Starbucks, and Corner Bakery in every building within a 3-block radius. | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 6981 Registered: 12-2003 |
Obviously you haven't worked in a high-rise on a corporate schedule. It takes long enough to simply get on the elevator twice and to stand in line at your chosen destination...how much time do you want to drag away from worker productivity figures?! Sure, for real lunches most humans would seek sunlight and open spaces and getting AWAY from your work building...but for coffee breaks and quick jaunts of less-than-an-hour, you NEED a Starbucks-type or Au Bon Pain that they can get to more efficiently. Same thing with the YMCA, getting up/down the elevator, then in your car or the People Mover will add costs in both time and dollars to the simple choice of getting a quick workout. Corporate Type-As make their life decisions from their MBA textbooks...everything is a time-efficiency study. They never want to have to lay themselves off. | ||
Tetsua Member Username: Tetsua Post Number: 854 Registered: 01-2004 |
Maybe they're lazy, maybe afraid to walk a few blocks away. I think however Au Bon Pain sees that they have thousands people captive in the Ren Cen, and figure it's logistically feasible to set up shop there. You see the alot in places like Manhattan, and DC where they have Starbucks right across the street from each other. This could be a sign of progress, where businesses feel there are enough bodies to support their products. | ||
Viziondetroit Member Username: Viziondetroit Post Number: 884 Registered: 11-2003 |
^ I agree... I suppose these people go on their lunch breaks... how much time do you think they get to drive back and forth or ride back and forth to the gym? | ||
Lowell Board Administrator Username: Lowell Post Number: 3238 Registered: 10-2003 |
I have to agree with Gannon on this one. I would be surprised if anyone working at RenCen would go to Campus Martius Au Bon Pain especially via People Mover as the stations are far from both places. So much that simply walking [god forbid Detroitois do that!] would probably be the quickest route. It is too bad the the RenCen station is so separated from the complex, requiring one to go down, out and then up again. I would be curious to know if, as I suspect, that most walk the tube to Millender and take that station when hooking up to the People Mover. In bad weather RenCen station is just a delay to the loop. IMO they should have eliminated the RenCen station when they tore down the berms. If they had tubed it to the RenCen, it might have had use. Right now, I fail to see what use it serves and the money could have been spent better elsewhere. Finally duplication of business shows growth and is a positive sign. | ||
Miketoronto Member Username: Miketoronto Post Number: 349 Registered: 07-2004 |
People need to take a breather and realax a little more. People are to rushed. That being said, the only other reason I can see places opening up in Ren Cen, eventhough they are just blocks away from another location, has to do with worker density. Ren Cen has a ton of workers, so they can support additional places that are only a block or two away. Come to Toronto and each office building downtown has like the same stores almost, and you can walk between the office buildings in like a min. It just has to do with the density of people in one spot. | ||
Fjw718 Member Username: Fjw718 Post Number: 85 Registered: 11-2005 |
In New York we have buildings that take up an entire block and have one of the same establishment on each side of the building. | ||
Digitalvision Member Username: Digitalvision Post Number: 241 Registered: 11-2003 |
Pretty much every city of significant density I've been to has this phenomenon - people just don't walk that far, and they don't have the time. I think, actually, it's a good sign. The more we can build and bring things closer, the better for downtown. That, and I personally think, the absolutely best place in all of downtown for a retailer to be from a business perspective is inside the Rencen. No security issues, captive clientele, plenty of foot traffic - it's a slam dunk for the right businesses. | ||
Drm Member Username: Drm Post Number: 1073 Registered: 10-2003 |
Lowell, the DPM station is connected to the Ren Cen with a tube. | ||
Mind_field Member Username: Mind_field Post Number: 640 Registered: 10-2003 |
In a skyscraper book that I have, it says the Renaissance Center is used by 20,000 people every day. I wonder what the current numbers are seeing as a significant portion of that number is office workers. But still that is a very impressive number for one complex. | ||
Dialh4hipster Member Username: Dialh4hipster Post Number: 1834 Registered: 11-2004 |
That must be why they are giving away the space for free for the first few years of a lease, and why businesses are moving out once they have to pay rent. I'm not saying that's a bad business model for them - they are subsidizing services for the rest of the complex. But don't delude yourself that it's a great place for retail. Seriously, who goes in there for anything if they don't work with GM? Hell, even the restaurants get cheap space. Downtown retail in general is definitely a case of "pay no attention to the man behind the screen." I think downtown has yet to get to the point where retail succeeds in a free market. | ||
Southen Member Username: Southen Post Number: 16 Registered: 08-2006 |
The current problem with the Ren Cen is that it is still pretty isolated to people outside of those that work there. I think you will begin to see that change once River East and some of the other riverfront developments take place. There will be more people in the area that would be much more likely to use the Ren Cen for retail. | ||
Huggybear Member Username: Huggybear Post Number: 266 Registered: 08-2005 |
Bring it on. The Renaissance Center is a 35-acre complex, not a single building - so you've already walked a couple of blocks before you get out. For example, if you work in one of the south towers and walk just to the front of the building, you've walked two blocks from Atwater to Jefferson. Getting to ABP in CM (which I do about once a month) is about 15 minutes each way from the front. The Boll YMCA is an even longer hike. Sorry, but most people in the complex do not have an hour and a half for lunch on anything approaching a regular basis. | ||
Spiritofdetroit Member Username: Spiritofdetroit Post Number: 30 Registered: 11-2006 |
according to officials at the RenCen leasing office, there are currently about 10,000 employees daily. Factor in hotel guests, business meetins, shoppers/tourists, and you could very easily get up to 20,000. | ||
Tkelly1986 Member Username: Tkelly1986 Post Number: 174 Registered: 01-2004 |
This is not about being lazy; it should be about these companies growing commitment to the reemergence of Detroit. If these two companies show that they can have enough success to open a second location; it should signal to other companies that success can be had. This is a good sign……and yes, you obviously have not worked in a high-rise; especially in the winter. Keep expanding!.....bring Corner Bakery! | ||
Ericdfan Member Username: Ericdfan Post Number: 171 Registered: 08-2005 |
there are 4 Radio Shacks in Downtown Chicago only a few blocks from each other | ||
Mayor_sekou Member Username: Mayor_sekou Post Number: 239 Registered: 09-2006 |
I think the more business the merrier so lets have a Au bon Pain on every block if it helps downtown in the revitilization front. And Fjw718 is right last time I was in NYC there had to be 50,000 Duane Reades and 2500 Foot Locker/Foot Actions just in midtown. We havent got that bad yet, even though I think the Jimmy Johns downtown are rediculously close. | ||
Jams Member Username: Jams Post Number: 4128 Registered: 10-2003 |
spell check suddenly not working? | ||
Bobj Member Username: Bobj Post Number: 1355 Registered: 11-2003 |
Good stuff as Gm makes the Ren Cen more enjoyable! |
