More Harper Court

Good Lord!  Can't he get anything right?  C-Pop on the delay of the 53rd & Harper project:

Down side, the 53rd & Harper project has apparently fallen through, due partly to the redeveloper, and partly, it would seem, to the exorbitant rental rates that they were asking; these, I understand, are as high as they are in part because local preservationists (insert names here) insisted on keeping the facade of the Harper Theater as is.

The obvious reason for 53rd & Harper "falling through" is that it will now be added to the Harper Court/City Parking Lot redevelopment.  Large parcels are more appealing to developers.  And, of course, I heard the opposite rumor about preservation-- that keeping the facade didn't add much expense to the project and even led to creating some attractive spaces for tenants.  And I heard that the University nixed all prospective tenants for piddly reasons, probably because they had this purchase in mind.

I know that might be a scenario difficult for C-Pop to accept, that there are good reasons why the small project was nixed and no one's a bad guy in this, yet.  But, sometimes you just have to accept that most people are competent in what they do.

Whoops!  He followed that comment up with another whopper:

Check this out, from Crain's: Michigan Avenue and other high-rent retail locations are hemorrhaging big-box stores as vacancy rates hit levels not seen since the recession of 91-92. Where are they going? "neighborhood locations like the outskirts of Lincoln Park or the South Loop, where there's cheaper rent and more parking."  Mixed bag here, but it does present an opportunity for a space like Harper Court/53rd/Harper Theater if they play their cards right. Which means keeping the rent on those spaces competitive (why is this so hard in Hyde Park?)  (emphasis mine)

C-Pop, there's this axiom in economics called supply and demand.  When the demand for something outpaces the supply, prices rise.  Commercial rent in Hyde Park is high because stores here are doing well.  There are more prospective renters than there are commercial spaces available.  Is that really so hard to understand? 

How did this come to be?  Well, when the University and the City got together to bulldoze the commercial buildings along 55th Street in the name of urban renewal in the late '50s, this supply problem was created.  In short, the large entities distorted the marketplace and our commercial life has never recovered. 

How could we fix this problem?  More commercial space.  Not necessarily better commercial space.  Harper Court, after all, probably had some of the lowest rents around and C-Pop seems to think low rents are important at the same time he wants to bulldoze Harper Court.  And it would help if more commercial space were available along the high-traffic corridors with strong public transportation like Cottage Grove and 55th Street and Lake Park Avenue, just as it was when commerce proceeded more organically, before the University and the City distorted the marketplace and left many dollars chasing too few spaces.

And I even have to chide Elizabeth Fama, who commented: "WHAT a piece of property to acquire for only $6.5 million. Hats off to whoever negotiated that."

Elizabeth, you're congratulating the University for taking advantage of a non-profit that wants to give away money to the arts.  I'd expect to see some scrutiny from the state over this deal.  And, if there really were better offers, as rumored... 

Comments

[Wrong]

More commercial demand than space? Stores here doing well? What planet are you living on? There is empty (or obviously underutilized, like the cavernous cell phone store on 53rd) commercial space on virtually every commercial block in Hyde Park, and businesses small and large have failed here in the last year while nothing new has opened without major corporate or private backing.

Despite huge amounts of empty commercial space, Hyde Park commercial landlords (private entities, not the U) are insisting on exorbitant rent and two years' (yes, two years, as in middle to high five figures for a small storefront) rent up front. Blame for the impossibility of opening a new small business in Hyde Park rests squarely with the landlords.

Even if the university is responsible for everything bad that ever happened in Hyde Park ever, explain to me why there is vacant commercial space on 55th even though they bulldozed all of it and now there is excess demand?

More NIMBY foolishness. Get a grip, we're all doomed to live in a neighborhood where you can't buy a pair of pants because most of the people holding property would for some reason rather sit on vacant crappy storefronts than work with actual tenants to permit some real damn progress around here.

[ScottM]

Isn't the UofC the largest commercial landlord in HP (or is it still MAC?)