02-09-2016, 09:44 PM
Part of the fixation on a downtown (or urban) grocery stores is that it fills in a gap in the food desert and has the potential to increase foot traffic in the area because everyone needs groceries.
As for the lack of parking and the need to carry large quantities of groceries, these kinds of problems existed before cars were widespread. In days gone by, and especially when refrigeration wasn't common or spacious, shoppers would walk from store to store along their downtown core, make their purchases, and then arrange for the delivery of groceries at home later that day. Door-to-door delivery of milk and baked goods eliminated the need for carrying those groceries home. Corner stores filled the gap of being a nearby place where kitchen essentials could be purchased. Today, most of those groceries are all contained in one large store where the expectation is that everything can be found and purchased at once.
I think until a larger amount of walking residents are nearby, it will be difficult to convince someone to open a relatively large grocery store downtown. The only type that might succeed would be something like a Vincenzo's that fills a niche and isn't likely found elsewhere. The New City Supermarket (aka the Asian Grocery store) succeeds where it does because it offers a wide selection of niche goods.
Getting back to the Eatons space, I think that it is more likely to be adapted as another space for an emerging tech company. In the medium term, once the existing buildings in the downtown core are used up, it will be far easier to repurpose a space like this than to have to push an entirely new building through the development process.
As for the lack of parking and the need to carry large quantities of groceries, these kinds of problems existed before cars were widespread. In days gone by, and especially when refrigeration wasn't common or spacious, shoppers would walk from store to store along their downtown core, make their purchases, and then arrange for the delivery of groceries at home later that day. Door-to-door delivery of milk and baked goods eliminated the need for carrying those groceries home. Corner stores filled the gap of being a nearby place where kitchen essentials could be purchased. Today, most of those groceries are all contained in one large store where the expectation is that everything can be found and purchased at once.
I think until a larger amount of walking residents are nearby, it will be difficult to convince someone to open a relatively large grocery store downtown. The only type that might succeed would be something like a Vincenzo's that fills a niche and isn't likely found elsewhere. The New City Supermarket (aka the Asian Grocery store) succeeds where it does because it offers a wide selection of niche goods.
Getting back to the Eatons space, I think that it is more likely to be adapted as another space for an emerging tech company. In the medium term, once the existing buildings in the downtown core are used up, it will be far easier to repurpose a space like this than to have to push an entirely new building through the development process.