Two good stories I saw in the Canadian media -- part one, the strip mall
We just got back from a four time-zone trip that took us from DFW to Toronto to the Canadian/US Rockies and back home. While in Canada, I saw an interesting TV news story (on CBC, I think) and read an interesting series of articles in a Calgary equivalent to our local D Magazine, called Avenue Magazine. Unfortunately, I can't find links to either the story or the articles, so I'll have to paraphrase.
The CBC story was a lengthy feature on the network national news about the "lowly" strip mall, and its place in the business and social framework on a major city like Toronto. The strip malls featured in this story were older and had little, if any, architectural distinction. Some you might call rundown, and I don't think any of those featured in the story would be allowed to exist as they are in Flower Mound -- they were just too dumpy.
But we have our strip shopping centers here too -- lots of them. And some are comparitively very nice in terms of architectural styling, landscaping and the like. But still, I think at best they're a necessary evil. They're cheap to build, they're easy for businesses (particularly small businesses) to work in, and they're well suited for our auto-dependent residents, particularly out of the burbs like we are. But still, fundamentally they're ugly. They rarely add to the aesthetic appeal of a thoroughfare, and they tend to get dumpy pretty quickly after a few years, unless they're remodeled.
I'm not sure where this post is going. I'm just thinking out loud, and wishing we could build nicer facilities that would serve shoppers' needs and business needs equal or better to what the "lowly" strip mall provides for us now.
More tomorrow on the second story. Meantime, I'll throw out kudos to the strip center on the NW corner of 2499 and 1171, for their current remodeling project. Beyond that, the only strip center in Flower Mound that I like the looks of is the one that houses Red Hot & Blue on 2499, north of Forest Vista.
posted by Chip Mahaney @ 11:11 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Hey, want you do a quick story on Parker Square? Comments such as what you like, what improvements you'd like to see, and opinions on why stores are closing there and how this could be a more popular and busy place.
Greg D.
Hey, what's up with Sweet Italy. Went by there yesterday, and it's gone! Anyone know the details?
Parker Square could probably more popular if they didn't have so many high-end boutiques. Sure, some people shop there but not me. I need something more affordable.
I don't shop there either. The concept of Parker Square is a good one but the shops leave much to be desired. They're too "exclusive" for me... The shops I did go to (the bread place, jerry's restaurant and now italian ice it seems) are all gone. Get some shops for us common folk!
I agree ... Parker Square is a waste of good space. Besides the expensive boutique-y thing, the hours are prohibitive for anyone who works outside the home. Everytime I drive by Southlake Town Square, I get resentful -- boy did we miss the boat?!
Anyway, we just went on a road trip to New England and when we were driving back into DFW, the urban sprawl was overwhelming! We definitely need to build up, not out, and we need some SIDEWALKS! My poor kids couldn't get to the "corner store" (if we had one) to save their lives.
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