| Retail trends
Construction of the Riverfront outlet mall and the Tanger outlet mall were proceeded by comments similar to Commissioner Mike Dever's outlook for new retail development at Sixth Street and the South Lawrence Trafficway: “I think it is going to add an opportunity for people outside of Lawrence to come shop … I think we're going to attract people to come to Lawrence." Both of those previous retail developments failed to increase Lawrence's retail business or sales tax income in the long term, and the structures were converted to other uses. Destination shoppers will only come to Lawrence for unique experiences, not to visit a retail area anchored by a big-box store they can find in their own community and surrounded by the same retail businesses to be found across the country.
Perry Homes offers small-town charm in historic Rosenberg
(PRLEAP.COM) Located in the historic city of Rosenberg, the 80-acre community of The Oaks of Rosenberg offers all the comforts of a small-town community with all the conveniences of the city. The new Brazos Town Center, a 540-acre development featuring 100 acres of retail shopping choices, a park and trail system, lakes and fountains, is less than three miles from the community. Plus, with access to U.S. 59, Texas 6 and Grand Parkway, The Oaks of Rosenberg is convenient to other nearby shopping and recreation such as First Colony Mall, Sugar Land Town Square, Home Depot and H-E-B. Perry Homes in The Oaks of Rosenberg offers a full selection of one- and two-story homes from the $150,000s and ranging from 1,700 to 2,700 square feet. Plus, through April 30, Perry Homes is offering a $10,000 buyer bonus on all sales in the community.
Chapel Hill Police Want Help Catching Vandals
Chapel Hill — Chapel Hill police are asking for the community's help to find the person or persons responsible for a rash of vandalism. Investigators believe a gang may be behind the graffiti. They say suspected gang members are leaving their mark with spray paint. Police are offering up to a $1,200 cash reward for information leading to an arrest. Ken Taylor is in the business of relaxation, selling thermal massage beds. But recently, something has him on edge. "It kicks up emotion in a heartbeat," said Taylor, owner of a retail shop in the Galleria Shopping Center. He's talking about gang graffiti that showed up near the dumpster outside the shopping center in Chapel Hill. Police say the group Latin Boys United left their mark on at least 20 different places from road signs to businesses in the past month.
New views surface in Alma Plaza debate
Several local groups jumped into the fray surrounding the redevelopment of Alma Plaza this week, just days before the Palo Alto City Council's scheduled decision on the center's fate at its meeting tonight. The city's Chamber of Commerce came out against the Planning and Transportation Commission's March 30 recommendation to add more retail space to the plan for the 4.2-acre plaza on Alma Street. The manager of the neighboring Stanford Villa Apartments, along with Greenbriar Homes, the company expected to build 39 single-family residences on the site, added their dissent to the mix as well. "The chamber's position is that we feel that the process has gone on long enough," said chamber board chair John King. "Let's get something going there." Currently, developer John McNellis' proposed plan for the dilapidated shopping center includes two commercial buildings totaling 24,000 square feet intended to house a market, small shops and a community room; a 9,000-square-foot park; 39 single-family homes; and 14 below-market-rate apartments.
Indy Hyatt Regency Renames Meeting Rooms
The Hyatt Regency Indianapolis is renaming each of its 21 meeting rooms as part of its $11 million renovation. Officials say the new names are meant to inspire and motivate planners. Names include words like vision, discovery and network. The new names will become official in July 2007.
Source: Inside INdiana Business
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Area's Bass Pro nears opening
The $3 million worth of taxidermy hanging on the walls alone is enough to suggest that Bass Pro Shops' newest location in Bolingbrook is not an ordinary sporting goods store. Other features of the store, which opens Wednesday, include murals and artwork depicting Illinois nature and wildlife, a 30-foot-tall waterfall and 18,000-gallon aquarium. The store's optical display counter, where customers can examine $2,000 binoculars and test gun scopes from a look-out platform, is valued at $70,000. "We think of our stores as part museum, part aquarium and also a retail store," said Rich Josepher, promotions manager for Bass Pro, as he led a tour of the 140,000-square-foot store on Thursday. The Bolingbrook store is part of the new Promenade Bolingbrook shopping center, which opens Thursday.
A rare ram-raid heist in Dubai mall
DUBAI: A gang of machinegun-wielding thieves robbed a major shopping mall jewellery store in a rare attack in the relatively safe Gulf emirate of Dubai, the local press reported on Monday.
An unidentified number of robbers used a car to ram through one of the main glass gates of Wafi City mall. They drove down the wide aisles of the shopping centre to the jewellery shop on Sunday night, Al-Emarat Al-Yom said.
A second getaway car followed and helped the thieves escape after they ransacked the store within minutes, it added. The operation was well plotted by a specialised gang, the daily quoted Dubai police as saying.
The robbers fired several gunshots, shattering the shop windows, an English daily quoted witnesses as saying after what appeared to be the first attack of its kind in the United Arab Emirates in recent years.
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