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One less reason for city kids to go to suburban malls
By adamg on Mon, 11/09/2015 - 12:05pm
Downtown Crossing is getting a Forever 21 (where the Tello's used to be). Now if only we could get a Spencer Gifts.
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Comments
Correct me if I'm wrong, but
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there already a huge, 3-or 4-story Forever 21 on Newbury Street? Or is the Back Bay now considered Suburbia?
You are correct. Prior to
You are correct. Prior to Newbury's opening, the closest F21 was in Arsenal Mall in Watertown.
Having worked for a major retailer at Faneuil Hall, I can confirm the demand for a F21 in the area is immense (people used to ask all the time). There are a lot of bus trips/tour groups and such where people cannot make the trek all the way to Newbury from the DTX/FH area.
OK, you got me!
I was thinking of all the Westie/Rozzie kids who routinely drive/are driven to Legacy Place or South Shore Plaza. Now they'll be able to just hop on a bus, go to Forest Hills and zip right down to Downtown Crossing.
Well, in my dreams, anyway :-).
I was thinking similarly as
I was thinking similarly as the poster, above....There's also one in the Cambridgeside Galleria.
I'm starting to think that you guys don't get me
The point of my Tweet was that Forever 21 is everywhere.
It's called SARCASM.
It was invented in Boston.
But I'm sure you knew that and were just being sarcastic.
Oh, I get it, Mr. C.
But you really need to check out Legacy Place some Saturday and ask all the teens you see where they're from. Even my household has not been unaffected.
That one is forgivable. It
That one is forgivable. It opened at the end of June to not much fanfare.
One difference is that the
One difference is that the Newbury location removed their men's section but I believe the DTX one will have men's and women's.
Oh really? It's been a few
Oh really? It's been a few years since I've been to that one. 21 Men can either be hit or miss, but I've found some great stuff there.
Now we just need
To close the pawn shops..
Plural?
There's more than one?
Two
CEX and the Jewelry place right on the corner of Summer & Wash. You know the one that was selling stolen identities and credit cards....
http://www.universalhub.com/crime/20130314-robbery-or-raid-downtown-cros...
CEX
CEX is not a pawn shop.
Actually most pawn shops are illegal in MA. A pawn shop means that someone LENDS you money in exchange for an item of value. If you go back in and repay the money, you get the item back. Most of the time, people take the cash and the pawn shop resells the item.
CEX is strictly a place to buy and sell stuff. There's no 'holding period'. You walk in, sell it, get your cash and leave. CEX can immediately turn around and sell it.
CEX also requires all sellers to register with an ID, and they do keep track of all sellers. Of course this is probably not a deterrent, but it isn't CEX job to field whether something is hot or not.
CEX Is An Enabler
CEX would buy a cell phone from someone with bloodstains on the phone. CEX is a horrible business that should be either shut down outright, or staffed with 40 fake employees who are all cops armed with hand grenades.
There's a couple
There's a Pawn shop right above the CVS on Washington St. next to the new Walgreens called Angler's Loan. Bay State Pawn on Province Steet
and this one on Bromfield:
http://www.bostonjewelry-loan.com/
WTF Consulting
Let's not forget WTF Consulting, a pawn shop that actually exists in DTX. Google it if you don't believe
So is craiglist
So is craigslist.. but we're not complaining about them either.
Just go cruise the ads over there in the electronic section.. phones and laptops with no manuals, cables, or sales receipts. I wonder how many are stolen..
Wouldn't Touch A Craiglist Ad With A 10 Foot Pole
If you want I can complain about them too. Frankly I don't think things should be sold used at all. Any things.
wow
To each his own I guess. Craigslist is a valuable resource for many people. I just saw Steve Miller the other night , bought a great leaf blower, sold my old kitchen table, bought a new kitchen table and sold my car on Craigslist all within a month. I love Craigslist.
There's a place for CEX, pawn shops, Ebay and the classifieds in the paper too.
But, whatever floats your canoe.
bought a great canoe on Craigslist...
just sayin', as they say
Hold On BlackKat...
How do you think Record Stores work?
Of course things should be sold used
It's environmentally irresponsible to throw things away (or even recycle them) if they can be reused by someone else.
Lets make downtown great again!
I want to open up a record store!
I need some hats...
In the later years of its existence
one of the best ways to gauge whether or not a newly released (to the theaters) movie was going to be a disaster was if the Strawberries in Downtown Crossing chose to promote the (@^$ out of it in their front windows.
As examples, consider "Honky Tonk Freeway" and "Waterword", both of which got heavy promotion by Strawberries management.
I was about to say...
Bring back !
Crap, screwed up the link..
Crap, screwed up the link...bring back Stairway to Heaven!
Close the Pawn Shops?
Are you serious? Pawn shops aren't the problem.
The problem as I see it , is that chains are the only businesses that can afford to pay 150 - 200 dollars a square foot now as the greedy property owners rush in to capitalize on the "NEW" Downtown Crossing.
We don't need a Forever 21. Although that's pretty much what Tello's was. (and failed) If all the stores that move in can be found in any mall then why come to DTX? That's the point I keep making. They are pricing out vendors and small business mom & pops. It's a recipe for future disaster when people won't be coming just to see the new GNC, Walgreens, Forever 21, Gap, and of course Macy's (which is the worst!)
The whole DTX public relations team touting the Millennium Tower as the Valhalla of Downtown is sort of like the Emperor's New Clothes story. They keep pointing and saying "Look it's like Beverly Hills here now!" while the reality is that addicts, criminals and the homeless are in every nook and cranny, stores are closing and leaving empty spaces behind and it's just not that different than it was before.
Each street has more than 2 or 3 vacant spots. With City Sports closing now Bromfield has 5 empty stores! There's bigger problems than the 2 Pawn shops that no one notices or cares about.
Addicts and criminals
Will find another place to hang out when there's nowhere for them to sell their stolen iphones. As for mom and pop shops getting priced out - you have a BMW you need to sell that's worth $50,000. Will you sell it to a rich parasite lawyer for $50,000, or a janitor for $5,000 because that's all he can afford, and you're just way too nice and generous?
True
I can't argue with that.
BUT the big picture is that if there's no good anchor stores and no destination shops then in time the deep pocket anchor stores will lose sales and leave. Then we will have more urban blight.
Case in point: Radio Shack,City Sports, Borders, Barnes & Noble...
The big guys fail too. It's actually smarter in the long term to do business with a local who has longevity, knows the neighborhood and clientele and won't skip out when the going gets tough.
People who have been here for decades and know the neighborhood are better for a long term investment. It may be a lower price per square foot in the beginning but in the end there will be less headaches, stress and lawyers. IMO
Not quite
The neighborhood will most definitely change once Millennium tower is completed, and whether you like it or not, there will be plenty of chain stores with deep pockets that cater to similarly deep-pocketed clients. Those who "knew" the neighborhood will no longer be relevant, because you'll have rich foreign students looking for artisanal chocolate, Rolex and Armani instead of addicts looking to offload a jacked cell phone. Heck, I wouldn't be too surprised if Primark gets booted and replaced with Nordstrom or something similar once the glitterati get fed up with the unwashed masses roaming around the ground floor of their castle.
As for pawn shops not causing issues, have you not seen the characters hanging around CeX and all those shady "we buy gold" (and everything else you happened to steal) hole-in-the-wall places?
The general griminess of the
The general griminess of the area and loss of multiple anchor department stores since 1978 has slowly been killing the area more so than chains and criminally greedy landlords.
It's one of the few area of the city which still looks, feels, and smells like pre-postwar-Renaissance Boston.
Hmmmm
Going back to 1978 as the glory days is something I can't agree with. In the 90's when Jordan's was still here and Filene's was busy as hell upstairs and in the basement, there were pushcarts lining both sides of Washington Street and it was a great place to come to. There were no empty storefronts and the cobblestone streets were packed with people.
Yes the Combat Zone was up the street and Yes it could be shady at times but it was still thriving.
The downfall for me began when Macy's took over and around the time of the DNC. After that things began to get very quiet leading up to Barnes & Noble leaving, Filene's closing and ultimately Vornado Realty Trust creating the Menino hole.....
1978 was the year most of the
1978 was the year most of the other big department stores which weren't Jordans or Filenes went bust in Downtown Crossing.
The decline of DTX
I can agree with 1978/late 70s as a pinpoint of when the area started to decline. It was exactly when it stopped being "Washington Street" and became "Downtown Crossing". Every time someone tries to create a suburbanlike "urban oasis" in a very downtown area, this happens. It was fine as it was, a somewhat grimy but very thriving downtown shopping/business area. When you factor in that all urban downtown areas took a real hit in the 80s, you get what DTX became.
I can also agree that Macys is an abomination for those of us that remember the days of Jordan Marsh and the Jordan Marsh annex.
None of those pricey apartment buildings are full
The area is still trashy/nasty. Adding a Forever 21 isn't going to help. Why do the DTX promoters think the Millenium Tower will suddenly change all that?
Look at
Washington St over by Millenium Place. Notice anything different from a few years ago?
They used to say the same thing about the Combat Zone
Remind me where that is again? It's down to its last two outposts, in an alley where they can be safely ignored (or discreetly entered, depending on your tastes).
When Millennium Tower is finished and occupied and when the competing tower across the street is built and the Godfrey Hotel for Young Masters of the Universe opens and Felt is torn down and replaced with a Manhattan-style skinny tower, you are going to see change. Money talks and money is not going to put up with icky poors and annoying street people, sullying the leisurely stroll down to that charming new restaurant that just replaced that ghastly old Corner. I'm just waiting for the first proposal to arm the Downtown BID ambassadors.
Arm the Ambassadors?
Have you met any? You may scratch that idea.
Downtown Crossing is
Downtown Crossing is infinitely better than even 15 years ago. Winter St and up to Park St is still pretty sketchy, but Summer and Washington (especially lower Washington) is way better now. As for mom and pop stores - sure, I always support those over big chains, but lets not pretend that Downtown Cross wasn't anchored and created by two chain stores (Jordan Marsh and Filene's) back when it was in its heyday (way back in my Parent's youth). Admittedly local chains/department stores (at one point at least) - they were still chains.
RIP Windsor Button
Riiiiiiip
Apparently
there's a store called Forever 21.
AND
It has nothing to do with 40 year old men who want to remain Forever in their twenties. Apparently.
Seriously
Every time I hear that name, I think of Uncle Rico telling Napoleon Dynamite he could have won states and maybe made the NFL if he just caught a break.
Does anybody over 21 even go there?
I don't think that I have ever seen anyone shopping or working there that is over 21 (unless they are paying for the haul ...).
I mean, I personally would not be happy to be forever 21. It sounds like a curse!
Agreed
If I was going to be stuck at any age I'd probably pick between 35 - 40.
Me too!
Wanna open up a Forever 37?
Yes, let's do it! A
Yes, let's do it! A sweatpants-and-wine emporium!
Sometimes
I hit the Newbury St location sometimes, I can find accessories like leggings and cool-weather hats that can be reasonably worn by those of us no longer 21 (at least that's what I tell myself).
Leggings
Cannot reasonably be worn by anyone.
Under dresses
They work well under dresses with boots.
Actually, yes. I'm way past
Actually, yes. I'm way past my 20's and I buy summer tops there because they're cheap
and they fit better than over-sized and over-priced boxy styles at other stores. My mother shops there as well for the same reasons. Unfortunately for many, most discount clothing retailers cater to a heavier set body type and if you're on the petite and slim end of the spectrum, it's harder to find tops that fit.
Held out so long
I've always wondered why the landlords who on commercial properties such as the building where the former Barnes & Noble Was have held off for so long in getting no tenants. Their asking rents are obviously too high, but they seem to be willingness to sit on a vacant storefront for years rather than taking any income. Maybe they need the tax losses to offset other income. Has property tax in DTX skyrocketed over the last five years that they can't afford to not raise rents exponentially? I think greed is a huge part of the problem but something is cutting way deeper than that. I'm curious if anyone has any insight why a storefront would stay vacant for over three years rather than signing smaller leases or donating the window fronts to an arts organization for an installation or temporary gallery. Seeing papered up stretches throughout the neighborhood doesn't make anyone want to rent. If the space was being used temporarily and well-decorated I would think it would be more marketable and he landlord can write off something charitable.
Depends on the landlord
I've seen the same thing in some Boston neighborhoods as well. Nice storefronts in well-traveled areas that sit vacant for 2, 3, 4 years. What I hear is that a) they do want a high rent and b) they want some big stable tenant who is highly unlikely to quickly fail. I get that, but it seems to me that the trade off of renting to some local guy/gal who might go out is better than having zero rent coming in for year after year. But that's just me. Some people would rather lose their shirt than compromise what they think is the best way to do things.
I don't get why they are
I don't get why they are building 4 million dollar condos and downtown crossing, then opening all these crappy teen stores.