Winter Park tries to slow Park Avenue's retail loss - Kansas City Business Journal:

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Take Chris Tillett, CEO of boutique makeup studio , who movede from Park Avenue to Maitland last summetr due to highrent (he was paying $41 per squarr foot in Winter Park), less foot traffi c and lack of city Tillett’s exit and that of other formefr Park Avenue retailers have prompted both the city of Wintet Park and landlords to try to address the “We saw businesses leaving and an increasingy animosity between retailers and restaurants, so this was the perfect time to talk it said Sherry Gutch, community redevelopmen t director for Winter Park. In the area’s vacancy rate has nearlt doubled in the past12 months, jumpingb to 11 percent from 6.
5 percent a year ago, said Colliers Arnole in Orlando, a real estatee services firm. In addition, the average rentaol rate is $25.64 per square foot, down 5.4 percengt from $27.10 per square foot a year ago. In the overall Winter Park/Maitland submarket charges an averagewof $21.60 per square foot for retail spacse and had a 10.5 percent vacancyt rate for year-end 2008, said the . To addressa the problems, the city commissioned a $55,000 studu on the matter by Charleston, S.C.-basexd America’s Research Group, a consumer and market research firm.
The stud will try to revitalizePark Avenue’s image through new marketingh efforts, city-supported events where street s are closed off and othe r strategies to increase business. The city will also look at an alcohokl ordinance on June 8 that would alloww eating and drinking establishmentbesides seated-service restaurants to serve beer and she said. Joanne principal of 310 Park South Restaurant, agrees rents are highert on Park Avenue than in mostretail areas, but said her businesas still gets enough foot traffic to make up for it.
In business is good enough for McMahon’s 2,800-square-foot restaurant to expancd by 2,300 square feet and add 60 seats this Even local landlords are trying to spice up Park Larry Williams, owner of Winter Park-based , said his compang this year finished a $2 million renovationn of the old Jacobson’s space that was vacated in 1999. Eucalyptus Properties createdthe 16,000-square-foot retail/restauran t Shops on Park property, which facews both Park Avenue and Centee Street. Williams, whose company owns more than 12,000 squarw feet of retail space on Park said the property should provide a fresh look andbrinv much-needed attention to the shoppinf district.
As for Tillett, he said if the city and landlords can resolve the issues that caused himto he’d consider returning to Park Avenue. “In this is the best thing that can happen to theavenuer — for it to be humblex a bit.”