More stores are leaving the Center, and more for lease/for sale signs are appearing in shop windows.
We bid adieu to E.L.Wilde and Allen Collins, and Mediza too!
Further away from the Center, the Park Road Playhouse is also closing and in Bishop's Corner Kiddly Winks has moved to Canton.
The body count is growing. Many stores like Kingswood Market have long sat vacant.
"For the first time in the last decade, we've had a number of stores moving out of the downtown," Rob Rowlson, the interim director of community services, said Friday. "It's an unfortunate byproduct of the economy."Higher state and local taxes, higher rents, less spending by consumers in this bad economy in general, all seem to be the problem. Some folks say that West Hartford overbuilt with Blue Back Square and that the project also contributed to an inflation of business rents in the vicinity. While some may place the blame on "greedy landlords", it should be noted that when taxes and insurance and energy costs and other fees go up, they have little choice but to raise the rents.
Years ago, West Hartford Center had about a dozen small clothing shops, said Rowlson, also a town native.
"Those days are not coming back because of competition from chain and big stores. The retail part of the story — soft goods such as clothing, gifts and decorating — is what worries me the most," he said. "Small retailers, like we have in West Hartford, have trouble in this economy."
One thing is for sure, we can't bring people into town to shop, free parking or not on Sunday, if we have empty storefronts.
9 WH Responses:
I don't deal with commercial real estate, but at some point, supply and demand is going to kick in and those rents are going to drop. I for one am starting to find the number of vacant storefronts in the Center troubling. They are not backfilling nearly as quickly as they are emptying. Let's hope there are some entrepreneurs out there that realize the best time to start a new business is when times are tough, that way you learn how to succeed in lean times and really thrive when the economy is doing well.
Did Mediza close for good? I thought there were signs up that just said they were remodeling?
It's disappointing to see many of the long time established stores closing. But with malls and cheaper internet shopping it's inevitable. It's also ironic as retail stores close, new restaurants continue to open. There needs to be a balance of the 2 entities. After all, how many restaurants does the center/square really need?
Did you include "Japanalia" in your death count? I just noticed today that they're gone! (They were right next to Chico's in WHC.)
Yeah, Mediza's door says "Remodeling, will be back soon!" Then again, CHOW in BBS has been teasing us for 2 years so who knows.
Kiddly Winks was a punch in the gut. That has been our go-to for last minute gifts since we moved to the Bishop's Corner area. That's a long drive out to Canton for a quick gift for a kid. It was nice to see a few familiar Bishop's store faces working there the other day though.
Blue Back added a glut of space at the absolute wrong time. Coupled with property taxes, and the unfriendly business climate at the state level, and we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. Add in Sunday parking fees, and things are going to get worse....
Mediza will not be reopening. Their creditors are looking for them. The food really went down hill there over the past two years.
Kiddly Winks lease was up and the landlord was not willing to remedy building issues in order to keep them. You may see them back in WH one day.
Good news. Park Road Playhouse has since been taken over by a new entity.
It is good news Park Road Playhouse is reopening. Its demise cannot be blamed entirely on the economy. There were other problems with it.
The bad economy had NOTHING to do with the closing of the Park Road Playhouse. More will be revealed as the court case continues.
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