Repackaging the store: design strategy that ups value.Retailers understand the need to periodically remerchandise to improve their appeal and bottom line ... and so often do owners of retail property need to refresh of reconfigure their physical assets. Our firm, Rosen Johnson Architects, has worked with owners to "reposition" the retail components of their commercial properties in an ongoing demonstration that skillful skill·ful adj. 1. Possessing or exercising skill; expert. See Synonyms at proficient. 2. Characterized by, exhibiting, or requiring skill. and attractive design solutions lead to sustainable results for owners and their tenants. A few case studies from our file illustrate the value of sensitivity to retailers' and owners' needs; positioning the stores for steady returns. Regular readers of Real Estate Weekly will remember a story about the Princeton Shopping Center shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marketplaces—in that the shops are usually amalgamated into in the Aug. 29 issue. There, a seminal 1950s shopping center cherished by the community was revitalized in a manner consistent with the original architecture, thus easing the approval process and enhancing its good--if aged--bones by adding thoughtful elements to increase the shoppers' comfort and the merchants' visibility. Think of a new skylight skylight Roof opening covered with translucent or transparent glass or plastic designed to admit daylight. Skylights have found wide application admitting steady, even light in industrial, commercial, and residential buildings, especially those with a northern orientation. enlivening en·liv·en tr.v. en·liv·ened, en·liv·en·ing, en·liv·ens To make lively or spirited; animate. en·liv  en·er n. a formerly dark entry passageway
leading to the central landscaped courtyard. Think of new diagonal
walkways that correspond with real walking habits replacing a mistaken
right-angled design. Think of enhanced signage opportunities for
retailers and a consistent way-finding system for the shopper.
A property that was popular with its community yet physically fading was brightened and strengthened, made more convenient and more engaging. Another of Rosen Johnson's repositioning projects was located in a Manhattan residential neighborhood with improving property values and demand for more appealing retail venues. A former bank branch with small windows set into large brick walls was an uninviting place for new and upscale retail uses. The entire building was stripped to its structural frame and new storefronts designed that allow for flexibility in demising the property. New mechanical systems were provided and a corner tower conceals specialized equipment needed for restaurant uses. The tower prominently marks the location of this assemblage of shops along First Avenue and provides additional signage opportunities for the tenants. If your retail property is on the ground floor of your office or multifamily residential building, you have an opportunity to serve your bottom line while putting the best "face" on your building. Putting the office or the home over the store is a traditional arrangement in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , and one that is gaining currency throughout the country as "new urbanist" principles take sway. At 1251 Avenue of the Americas, the former Exxon Building There are many buildings called the Exxon Building. Among them:
One project improved the visibility, accessibility and value of the building's side-street retail shops. We added a 15,000 s/f floor within the building's 35-foot-rail ground floor "bustle". Steps that led into narrow retail entrances along 49th Street were removed, the shops were brought to grade and doorways widened to diversify leasing opportunities and improve the retail environment. Large new tenant signage marquees, consistent with the building's original architecture, are visible from 6th and 7th Avenues. Inside the office tower a spacious, attractive extension of the building's lobby was created to allow ease of access to the retailers. Additional service elevators and new mechanical systems were provided to complete this package of improvements. The changing retail character of the Wall Street area spurred George Comfort & Sons' request and our response to invigorate in·vig·or·ate tr.v. in·vig·or·at·ed, in·vig·or·at·ing, in·vig·or·ates To impart vigor, strength, or vitality to; animate: "A few whiffs of the raw, strong scent of phlox invigorated her" the ground floor of their building at 2 Wall Street. Along with adding a secondary lobby entrance to the office tower from Broadway, strategic changes were initiated to transform the fortress-like base. The building had a long banking history and the main banking hall with its 40-foot ceiling was located above a tall, windowless, granite base. Provision was made to insert new storefronts replacing masonry between large stone piers that were preserved in order to maintain the building's aesthetic integrity. A Commerce Bank branch--with its familiar red logotype--occupies the newly fashioned multi-story space. What had been an austere corner at a prime intersection was transformed for a contemporary retail environment. The evolution of nearby neighborhoods dictated a better retail presentation for a Trinity Real Estate Building at One Hudson Square in lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York. Lower Manhattan is generally defined as the area delineated on the north by Chambers Street, on the west by the Hudson River (North . Once again, Rosen Johnson Architects worked with the owner for many years to convert the light-industrial building to meet the needs of a modern multi-tenanted office use. Located between Soho and Tribeca, and at the center of a district ripe for reinvention, the building needed new storefronts, and retail infrastructure to serve a whole new class of tenants and shoppers. The new storefronts are respectful of this classic Ely Jacques Kahn Ely Jacques Kahn (1884 - 1972) was an American commercial architect most active in New York City between 1925 and 1931. Kahn was born in New York, the only son of a prosperous Austrian and French Jewish family. He attended Columbia University. deco tour de force, and are allied to other facade improvements while enlivening the streetscape street·scape n. 1. An artistic representation of a street. 2. Surroundings composed of streets: the urban streetscape. and providing for a variety of shops. BY PAUL ROSEN Paul Rosen (born on April 26, 1960) is a Canadian sledge hockey goalie and motivational speaker. Rosen suffered a leg injury during a hockey game as a youth, and the resulting damage, infections and pain to his leg plagued him for years until his lower leg was amputated at age 39. AND ANTHONY JOHNSON For other uses, see Anthony and Johnson. Anthony Johnson may refer to:
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion