Retail zones envisioned downtown
When RedPeak Properties began renovating the downtown high-rise now known as 1600 Glenarm Place, attracting the right ground-floor retailers was a critical part of the planning.
“We were trying to provide support for our residents and the lifestyle we were trying to create here, ‘the building never sleeps’ type of thing,” said Michael Zoellner, the group’s president. “We were trying to create an 18-hour activity center that would make our building a real hub of traffic and activity.”
Instead of the furniture and kitchen stores RedPeak envisioned, “all we saw were restaurants and clubs,” Zoellner said. The group ended up actively recruiting the tenants they wanted and structuring the deals so they would be successful.
“Once we found retailers who fit our vision, we had to convince them that we would put them into business, build out the space and do what it takes to get them into the building,” he said.
