The Grass is Always Greener on Michigan Avenue

I was looking through some old photographs recently, and came across some CrappyCameraPhone™ shots of the opening of the Columbia Sportswear store (830 North Michigan Avenue) that I didn't publish back when they were timely or relevant.

So, here they are -- just four months late. The reason they're interesting, is because for the event, Columbia put down artificial grass on the sidewalk, with a miniature hiking trail leading to the front doors of its store. Clever.

Summer Brings New Life to Chicago Retail

It's been a while since I've written anything good about Oak Street (or, indeed anything at all), so it is with much delight that I recap some of the recent events that have been happening in the neighborhood.

The big news is, of course, the opening of the new Hermès store.  After seeing a raft of other boutiques set sail for other shores, it's great that this has finally come to fruition.  The old Barneys New York space at 25 East Oak Street was huge in comparison to its neighbors, and there was much wringing of hands over having that much vacant space on such a prominent corner.

As you know, part of the building was segmented out for other retail, but Hermès took the bulk of it -- 7,000 square feet -- to replace the location at 110 East Oak Street where it opened in 1989.  I found this photo of the renovated store on the internet (sorry, no photos of my own -- I'm still traveling), and although the changes are subtle, it no longer looks like Barneys.

Outwardly, the "Barneys New York" badge that was carved into the third-floor roofline is gone, replaced by large raised letters on the first floor for people across the street, and a smaller set for pedestrians.  The Hermes branding has gone up on both Oak and Rush Streets, and most importantly -- the signature red Barneys awnings have been replaced with creme colored, Hermes-branded ones that match the rest of the facade.

Inside, the store is described as "roomy" -- an adjective that one would be hard-pressed to use to describe the old Barneys space, especially on the first floor.  It was a maze of counters and shopgirls and product displays fighting for attention.  As unappetizing as the warren was for regular shoppers, the bridal fitting area was a disgrace, and the back of the house was even worse.  In the end, the move to build a new Barneys New York store at 15 East Oak Street works out for everyone involved -- Barneys, Hermès, and their customers.

But with a clean slate to work with, Hermes was able to stretch out and properly feature its products in a more elegant environment.  Credit goes to Rena Dumas Architecture, which is the legacy of Rena Dumas whose fingerprints are on every Hermes store around the world.  The old Hermes space was just 3,000 square feet; less than half of its new digs.  According to Women's Wear Daily, the new space is ideally suited for selling clothing, as Chicago is one of the strongest women's clothing markets for Hermés.  Shoe sales are also expected to double, as Hermés has gone from a few shelves of shoes into a proper shoe department.

I'm not sure if they are the most expensive items in the Chicago store, but there is mention in WWD that you can buy crocodile suitcases at the Oak Street store.  They start at $68,000.  A little more affordable, and even more exclusive, is a $375 scarf which was made for the Chicago store, and is only available there.

I've seen some photos of the opening day in the trade press, and it looks like it was a literal circus, complete with stilt walkers, women in jockey costumes, and more.  That's great, as the winter and spring were not kind to Oak Street.  It needed some kind of big event to wake it from its grey malaise.

And the good news isn't isolated to just this one store.  There have been a number of major and minor openings in the neighborhood, some filling in prominent space that was left vacant.  From the Belgian bakery that took the place of Sur la Table on Walton Street to the Gap 1969 store that slotted into the former Jake space on Rush, things are looking up.  And the fewer vacant storefronts there are, the better the neighborhood looks, which attracts more people, and more stores.

Also expected to come to the Gold Coast and Near North Side in the near future: Keep an eye out for Comptoir de Cotonniers, Topshop, Vince, HomeGoods, and Nordstrom Rack.  While not all of these brands are at the top of the retail food chain, there's a good mix that will appease locals, international visitors, and tourists from I states.

Video and pix: Block37 LED Displays

Earlier this year we mentioned the new LED displays now adorning the atrium of Block37 (1 West Randolph Street), and posted a few pictures and a video.  Now we've been sent a press release from the company that engineered the displays, along with some much better pictures than we had:

More Acorns Fall From Oak Street

It's been a painful couple of years documenting the long series of closures that have turned Chicago's Oak Street into a shadow of its former self.  The economic crisis has hurt boutiques along the street, and the hit keep on coming.

The latest bit of bad news -- Crain's Chicago Business notes this week that Liz Claiborne is trying to sublease it's Lucky Jeans space at 47 East Oak Street.  Liz has been very active on Oak Street over the last year.  It recently renovated its Kate Spade store at 56 East Oak Street after moving across the street from 101.  Liz then moved Juicy Couture into the 101 East Oak Street location.

The news at number 47 is only worsened by another note from Crain's that we tweeted about earlier this week -- that the space next door at 45 East Oak Street is for sale.  Loro Piana is in there now, but its lease expires this autumn and the building's owner wants to unload the property.

Jake Says "Goodbye"

I've read in the retail trade press over the last year or so about problems at Rush Street boutique Jake. I don't go into detail about who says what about whom here, but it's all about money.

About two weeks ago one of our regular tipsters said that she heard that Jake was going to close.  But I shy away from rumors, so I didn't do anything with it.  A week ago I saw the same claim made on a web site, but again without any sourcing.  Now it appears to be true.

One of our camera clan e-mailed this picture this morning.  It's nice to see that Jake is using a very classy sign to say "goodbye" rather than just a taped-up piece of paper like we've seen others do.

It's yet another hole in the Oak Street shopping district.

While on the topic of things unconfirmed, there's scuttlebutt that Yves Saint Laurent isn't coming back to Oak Street anytime soon.

We wrote a couple of months ago about YSL closing up shop. At the time, the people at the store said it was just a renovation.  Of course, when businesses renovate, they tend not to remove their signage and black-out the windows. Usually there's a helpful "Back in a couple of months!" sign.  Not so at YSL where the boutique has even been removed from the company's web site.

Some have said that YSL closed while it looks for a new location.  I don't buy it.  If you're just moving, then you find a new location first, kit it out, then move.  Just like Kate Spade did when it moved from 101 East Oak Street to 56 East Oak Street, or like Hermes is doing right now moving from 110 East Oak Street to the old Barneys New York building at 25 East Oak Street.

It should be noted that YSL recently closed it San Francisco and Madison Avenue, New York stores as well.  I'd wager those cities will get replacement YSL boutiques long before Chicago does.

Chicago's Newest Empty Mall

It wasn't that long ago that Chicago Place decided it couldn't make a go of it as an urban mall and decided to reinvent itself.  Since then, the city's retail landscape hasn't gotten any better.  In fact, there are dozens and dozens of premier retail locations at the heart of the city from Oak Street to the Michigan Avenue corridor to State Street and beyond that are sitting vacant.

So while much has been made of Block37's retail woes, and the retail reformation at Chicago Place, and speculation about the future of urban retailing in the Windy City, guess what hasn't been getting much attention -- the empty mall at the base of the Trump International Hotel and Tower (401 North Wabash Street).

It was able to fly under the radar of scrutiny mostly because it's been under construction for years.  Every time a responsible publication would inquire about potential stores, Trump flacks would wax eloquent about premier names that would populate the riverside plaza and make it a shopping destination.  And always, they would stop just short of actually naming names.  Any name.

Now that the construction on the plaza mall appears to be mostly done, how much longer can the Trump people dodge the elephant in the store: Is anyone coming to the Trump mall, and if so, who are they and when?

Quickie: New Stores For North Bridge and Wabash

While in the Shops at North Bridge (520 North Michigan Avenue) today I noticed two stores being built out.

• First, is the Art of Shaving store, which we mentioned was coming on this blog back in the fall.  It looks like it's finally coming to fruition, and if it's anything like the one I visited in San Francisco, it will be quite nice.
• The other is on the second floor, and called "Teavana" -- some kind of tea shop.  The sign claims it will stock more than 100 varieties.

And one other quick note -- there's a new tiny convenience store at 203 North Wabash Street, kind of across the street from Harold Washington College.

The Gold Coast's New Marc Jabobs Store Looks Ready To Go

It looks like things have really come together at the new Marc Jacobs store. The boutique inside the Elysian Chicago Hotel (11 East Walton Street) has finally shed its cloak and you can clearly see the shelves stocked and the windows being decorated with stuffed animals. We haven't heard what the official opening date is, but it looks like it could be pretty soon.

Tuesday Trivia: Heads of Commerce

Q: You probably already know that there are heads in front of the Merchandise Mart (222 West Merchandise Mart Plaza) representing the leaders of Chicago's industry from back when Chicago was an industrial leader.  But can you name them all?

A: Here is the Merchandise Mart Hall of Fame in alphabetical order:

• Marshall Field
• Edward A. Filene
• Julius Rosenwald
• George Huntington Hartford
• Aaron Montgomery Ward
• John Wanamaker
• General Robert E. Wood
• Frank Winfield Woolworth

Another Oak Street Boutique Goes Dark

Over the last few months we've told you how what was once Chicago's premier shopping street has become quieter and quieter.  Some stores are moving to new quarters, while others are taking advantage of the recession to renovate.

One of our readers e-mailed us photos of an empty store and of a sign taped to the window of Tod's (121 East Oak Street) showing that it, too, is taking a break to rejuvenate itself.  The paper indicates that the store will reopen next month.

Two weeks ago, the Yves Saint Laurent store (51 East Oak Street) also shut down, and promises to reopen in a few months.  Kate Spade (56 East Oak Street) just reopened over the weekend after undergoing its renovation.  Hermes continues to build out its new store in the old Barneys New York space (25 East Oak Street), and Marilyn Miglin still has signs up indicating that work continues on its space at 112 East Oak Street.

Of course, the ongoing bad news is that there are still a number of vacant spaces on Oak that show no signs of being reborn.  Most prominently 58, 56, and 72 all right by each other.

30 Things You Don't Know About Block37

Yesterday there was a meeting to update the public about the status of Block37.

The people from Joseph Freed and Associates did the presentation, and while they made every effort to be forthcoming, there were certain things they refused to talk about.*

Much has been written in the news about the project's legal and financial situation, and to date we've entirely avoided even mentioning those things in this blog because, quite frankly, they're boring and we don't care.  Open or closed is all we (and the wider public) care about.  We don't want to get bogged down in the minutiae of who appointed what receiver that can't get insurance for blah blah blah blah.  Open or closed.  That's all we want to know.

In our many explorations of the retail complex, we've come to certain conclusions:

• The exterior facade is not great, though it's our understanding that by the time Joseph Freed and Associates gained control of the project it was too late to make any changes.
• The multiple-level LED screens are pretty cool, especially when there are sharks swimming in them (See our CrappyCameraPhone™ video).
• Block37 has some of the cleanest public restrooms on State Street.
• Beard Papa's creampuffs are OK.  They're a little bland, but some people consider that a virtue.  It's also in keeping with its homeland's fondness for the appreciation of subtle flavors.
• WBBM-TV really screwed the public, and should be ashamed of the way it half-assed the screens above its streetfront studio.

On a different note, a lot was said in the meeting that we knew, but there were a number of new nuggets of information presented.  Here are 30 things about Block37 that you may or may not already know:

1. The first time a proposal was floated to demolish the entire block and start again was back in the 1980's.
2. There was once a plan to open Block 37 as a walkable, low-height suburban-style outdoor mall.
3. The planned hotel and residential towers haven't been cancelled.  They can still be added when the economy improves.
4. The hotel and residential portions of the building must be built at the same time for structural reasons.
5. When the hotel and residential towers are completed, a green roof will be planed on top of the retail podium.
6. The planned green roof will open as a small public park, like the one atop the Pepsico offices in the West Loop.
7. The planned hotel is expected to have 385 room.
8. The planned condo/apartment block is expected to have 400 residences.
9. If you look at the building's columns from the pedway level, you may be able to see that there have been diagonal rows created going southeast to northwest.
10. The diagonally arranged columns were done that way to accommodate future express train service below the building.
11. Block37 already has all of the infrastructure in place for the CTA to open an express train station with high-speed service to Midway and O'Hare airports.
12. The developer of the project was required to bring in a certain amount of stores that were new to the region.
13. The reason that the Anthropologie and Puma stores are both two levels is because ground floor stores were given reduced rents if they went vertical.  The idea is to lure shoppers into going higher in the building to explore the stores on the upper levels.
14. In 2009, seven million people passed beneath Block 37.  Two million going through the CTA Blue Line's Washington Street station, and five million through the CTA Red Line's Lake Street station.
15. Each day, 25,000 people use the CTA stations at Block 37.
16. Block37's southeastern ground floor exit was positioned to deliberately give its users a view of the former Marshall Field's building.
17. Block37's northeastern ground floor exit was positioned to give people a view of the Chicago Theater sign as they leave.
18. Block37's western ground floor exit was positioned to open up on Daley Plaza.
19. These three things were done to provide a sense of cohesion with the rest of the Loop, so that Block37 wouldn't feel like yet another isolated island of commerce.
20. Block37's mission is "A public-private partnership that creates a vibrant and successful mixed use development to strengthen downtown Chicago's reputation as a shop, dine, work, live, and play destination while embracing the community's desire for a central transportation hub."
21. 140,000 people live within two miles of Block37.
22. 65,000 college students go to school near Block37.
23. "108 North State" was not meant to be the building's final name, it was just a placeholder.
24. The name "Block37" was chosen because "108 North State" had the potential to alienate retailers in the building who were not positioned on State Street.
25. The big ugly empty steel spaces that wrap around the corner of Washington and Randolph Streets are where CBS was supposed to put in a huge Times Square-style wraparound video screen.  Instead, it went the cheap route and put in a single square screen, leaving the rest of the structure exposed.
26. Block37 has 280,000 square feet of retail space.
27. Block37 has 1,000 restaurant seats.
28. Block37 has 1,630 live and movie theater seats.
29. Block37 has underground parking for 350 vehicles.
30. Block37 has 440,000 square feet of office space.

* To be perfectly clear here, the Freed people stated that they couldn't talk about certain things for "legal reasons."  While they are very likely acting on the advice of their lawyers not to talk about stuff, there is nothing in the law which actually prohibits them from doing so, which is why we used the phrase above "refused to talk" instead of the more common and journalistically lazy "could not talk."  It is a choice made by people at the company, not an actual restriction imposed by law.  Anytime you see a company say "we cannot comment on pending litigation" or "we cannot speak for legal reasons" it's not that they cannot speak.  It's that their lawyers advise them not to and they choose to follow that advice.  For the time being we still have the right to free speech in the United States.  With this in mind, you'll notice a pattern develop over time -- that companies with strong leadership and policies of public openness will talk to the media; while companies with weak leadership, a culture that stifles employee thought, and a "circle the wagons" mentality will go with "no comment."

Status Update: Leonidas is Still Coming

It was back in November that we first mentioned the new Leonidas store coming to the former Bank of America location at 59 East Chicago Avenue.  Since then, little has changed with the storefront.  In spite of the "coming soon" promise, it didn't manage to open in time for the Christmas shopping season.  But there are signs that things are still progressing.

Recently a permit was posted showing the Leonidas is still moving forward with the project.  It was issued January 7, 2010.  Also, there is a promotional placard for a Red House, a company that specializes in renovations.

Presumably, Red House is doing the interior design.  But we'd be more impressed if it let us see the work being done inside, or at least posted renderings of what the finished product should look like.  The Leonidas project isn't even mentioned on the company's web site.

Status Update: The Sullivan Center

Last Wednesday (January 20, 2010) I was standing at a Loop bus stop waiting for any CTA vehicle beginning with a "1" to come by and take me home when a thought struck me.  "Aren't I supposed to be under a scaffold right now?"

I turned around and discovered that the scaffolding surrounding the State Street facade of the Sullivan Center (33 South State Street) was gone.  Years after Carson Pirie Scott abandoned the heart and soul of its home town, the building that made it famous is emerging from its construction cocoon.

If you haven't been by in a while, you should make a trip.  The exterior is magnificent.  Hopefully something good happens to the interior, too.  There have been a few small shops that opened on the Wabash Street side, but the bulk of the retail space remains unclaimed.  A hoped-for grocery store fell through, and the latest out of Crain's Chicago Business is that Target might be interested in opening there -- probably the final nail in the coffin of the flagship Sears store across the way.

Would The Last Boutique on Oak Street Please Turn Off The Lights?

Another Oak Street boutique is taking advantage of the crummy economy to re-tool.

The Yves Saint Laurent store at 51 East Oak Street closed last Friday (January 23, 2010).  Word is that the interior is being completely renovated.  The new design is based on plans from Paris and is intended to upgrade the Chicago location to flagship status.

When will that be?  At this time it's anyone's guess.  Estimates are running two to three months.

Also closed to renovation is the Kate Spade store across the street at 56 East Oak.  It is expected to reopen by the end of the month.

For those of you keeping score at home, the following spaces are closed on Oak Street:

• 25 East Oak Street (Formerly Barneys, soon to be Hermes)
• 51 East Oak Street (YSL, reopening in a few months)
• 56 East Oak Street (Kate Space, reopening sooner)
• 58 East Oak Street (The dead Esquire Theater)
• 68 East Oak Street (Formerly Citibank)
• 72 East Oak Street (Formerly G'Bani)
• 112 East Oak Street (Soon to be Marilyn Miglin)

A block over, 52 East Walton Street is now empty.  It was Sur La Table, and there was word that some kind of bakery or cupcake shop or something was looking at the space, but the signs on the windows state the space is still available, so it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

The good news is that 102 East Oak Street is no longer shuttered.  It's now the home of Colletti.  It used to be Atlas Galleries.

How can shops like YSL and Spade afford to shutter their doors when consumer spending is down?  The logic is that it's better to close when spending is down than when spending is high.

Anyone who follows the retail press knows that high-end shoppers are mostly sticking to New York, London, Dubai (yes, still Dubai), and the major Asian markets these days.

We keep hearing from people who work in Chicago's retail sector that the few tourists who choose to make Chicago their destination continue to balk at the city's high sales tax.  By one estimate, half of the high-end north side shoppers who inquire about the sales tax end up walking out without buying anything.

It's not that they can't afford 10.25%, it's just that no one likes getting gouged.  And those who can afford it wonder why they should pay an extra 10.25% at Chicago boutiques when they can get the same item in other cities for less.

And the math doesn't just work for the well-to-do.  I know ordinary people in Chicago who fly to Minneapolis to do their back-to-school shopping at the Mall of America.  With zero sales tax on clothing, and a much lower sales tax than Chicago on everything else, they end up saving enough money to more than pay for the plane ticket.

Gotta get me some kids.

Slice of Life: Frozen Fox

A news crew from Fox Business Channel does live shots for a story about shopping on Michigan Avenue in this horribly white balanced photo.

Mini Marshall Fields

It's no great secret that even though I travel a lot, I haven't seen much of Chicago's suburbs.  Generally, if I'm on the move, my journey starts at the airport.

So on those occasions I venture into the suburbs I'm usually delighted by the little things.  One of them is the series of mini Marshall Fields stores that seem to litter the area.  They help me envision a time when State Street was the great mother ship of a retailing empire, and scattered around its sphere of influence are miniature versions bringing the same class and sophistication to the hinterlands.

Alas, those days are long gone; but the buildings remain.

This photo shows a mini-Marshall Fields in Evanston, now known as the Evanston Galleria (807 Church Street, Evanston), complete with a miniature corner clock similar to the famous one at State and Randolph Streets.

There's also an even small one in Lake Forest (682 North Bank Lake, Lake Forest) that we've mentioned before.  There are probably other ones out there in suburbs I have yet to explore.

Madison Street Gap Has Been Filled

Back in April we talked about the Gap store closing at Three First National Plaza (70 West Madison Street).

The good news is... the vacant retail space has been filled.

The bad news is... it's yet another cell phone store.

Granted, I haven't shopped at a Gap store since I was a kid in the 1970's and it was the place where poor people went to buy dungarees.  But I think we're pretty close to the Loop's saturation point for cell phone stores.

Follow-up: Hermes and Little Miss Matched on Oak Street

As a follow-up to an article earlier this week, I went by the Little Miss Matched boutique that's opened in the former Chelsea Passage space at 39 East Oak Street.  I haven't received any answer to my inquiry with Little Miss Matched, but based on what I saw, I'd say this is a temporary pop-up store just for Christmas.  The floors are damaged and scarred and there's white sheets instead of walls in the back of the shop.

Also, One of our regular readers e-mailed some pictures to me today showing the new Hermes logos on the old Barneys New York building (25 East Oak Street).  Inside is still supposed to be a mess, but the fact that there's new window coverings means that progress is being made.

 

Old Barneys New York Space Gets Its First Tenant

One of our eagle-eyed readers snapped this photo of a new Little Miss Matched boutique taking space in what used to be the Chelsea Passage portion of the old Barneys New York building (25 East Oak Street) before it moved across the street to its new building (15 East Oak Street).

Little Miss Matched is a girl's and cute young woman's clothing, bedding, and accessories store with a theme of encouraging mismatched patterns and colors.  Think "Kate Spade" before Kate took the money and ran and her brand became yet another division of Liz Claiborne.

I, for one, welcome our new mismatched overlords.  As someone who tweaked the authorities in my Catholic school by wearing florescent colored mismatched socks because the dress code didn't address socks, I consider myself a pioneer in the field of asynchronous fashion.

Whether the LMM boutique will stick around remains to be seen.  There is no mention of the Oak Street location on the company's web site or in any recent press releases, so it's possible that it's just a temporary pop-up store for the Christmas shopping season.

The orange color extends beyond the Chelsea Passage portion of the former Barneys store.  I took this picture a couple of days ago of the orange window linings on the other side of the building.  Orange is also the color of Hermes, which at last report, still planned to move into the 25 East Oak Street space.

The Amish Are Coming! The Amish Are Coming!

Summer's farmers markets are over in Chicago, but it turns out there is still a place where you can get a taste of the rural life in the Loop.

The shuttered Wolf Camera shop at 42 South Clark Street has reopened as the "Rise 'n Roll Amish Market" -- a store selling Amish goods from Shipshewana, Indiana.

The store was closed when I went past on a recent morning, so I don't know if this is a pop-up shop just for the Christmas shopping season, or if it's going to stick around.  I did, however, find that on November 20, 2009 a business license was issued for another location at Two Illinois Center (233 North Michigan Avenue).