"Roosevelt Corridor" Thriving: Pier 1 & Petco Sign Lease

More good real estate news for the Sloop.  The "Roosevelt Corridor" is thriving according to a story in chicagorealestatedaily.com:

Petco Animal Supplies Inc. and Pier 1 Imports Inc. have agreed to open stores in the Roosevelt Road corridor, a retail strip that's thriving in part because of a lack of nearby competition.

Petco will take over space between 603 and 627 W. Roosevelt (in the same complex as the newly opened Vitamin Shoppe and Sleepy's).

Construction Sign at the Maxwell listing retailers

Pier 1 Imports will be moving into the massive Maxwell development that is shooting for an opening date of September 2014.  We recently did a post on the development and totally missed the fact that the Pier 1 logo was on the sign in our picture.  Oops!

The more interesting story is the evolving notion of why this stretch is coming alive:

“What Roosevelt Road has turned into is what North Avenue is,” Mr. Annenberg said, referring to the main drag in the Clybourn Corridor. 

Retailers are drawn to Roosevelt Road because the nearby residential population has boomed, and the nearest shopping area to the south is more than six miles away, said Allen Joffe, principal at Chicago-based Baum Realty Group LLC, who isn't involved in either transaction.  

That means retailers can draw in shoppers from a broad area.  

“Your next really vital shopping area is really Hyde Park,” Mr. Joffe said.

This development might seem like it happened quickly, it's a vision many people in the Sloop have been talking about for years (including us way back in 2010).  It seemed bound to happen and it appears it is now.

While some may cringe at the notion of big box retailers coming to the neighborhood in mass, we think this is a good development.  As you head east over the river and into the heart of the South Loop you are still seeing new local restaurants, bars and retail operations popping up.  The more people that come to the neighborhood the better - whether it's for big box shopping or local nightlife.

(Hat tip:  KM!)