New Starbucks opening at Richardson Heights center

J_Mortimer says:

Yes. Being someone who lives in that area, I oddly and suprisingly find myself agreeing that its prime Starbucks territory.

"But isn't the Heights center kindof sweet the way it is, with its '50s look and retro 'Richardson Heights' sign? And if all the main tenants are staying, you gotta wonder what the point is of doing a remodel."

The point is that the center sucks and yets its on a prime corner of the 75 corridor in Richardson. I'm all for ethnic diversity and I adore Indian food but the Indian clientele doesn't help the area. Not many live nearby so they come from afar to shop there and then those who do live nearby have to go somewhere else. We end up driving past each other. What the neighbors want is a center which they can use regularly. I think many of the Indian clients might be gone in the future.

The retro Heights sign used to be a clock which had stood since the 50s until an owner who purchased the center in the 90s (and didnt understand the neighborhood) slapped up that sign instead. The lighted clock in retrospect (pun intended) would have been better but was probably costly. We do miss it.

Across the freeway, in the property next to the 10 story chase bank building is going to be redeveloped with some retail. Home Depot is going in behind the bank tower. The area is beginning to see the regeneration it needs to see.

J

J_Mortimer says:

Yes, economic revitalization is news. If you read the article -- which I presume you did not -- you would have noticed that Starbucks is mentioned in exactly one sentence only.

It says, "A Starbucks Coffee will open in the center this fall, Mr. Duhon said.

The company is negotiating with other tenants, he said, including an office supply store, a consumer electronics retailer, a grocery store, a national bookstore and several restaurants."

So a city and a property owner working to prevent a central area from descending into terminal crap is news.

J

kirk says:

Are you sure you read the article? I count six Starbucks mentions.

Personally, my favorite aspects of the shopping center are 1.) the ironic name, 2.) the best Indian grocery store in the area, and 3.) the chance of getting some good Indian Chinese food if you hit Bombay Chinese on a good day.

J_Mortimer says:

I am referring to the original source article that Teresa Gubbins points to in her's above.

J

DC says:

Could we please get some coverage on what's going on with Olive Garden these days?

Scott says:

They're negotiating with "an office supply store, a consumer electronics retailer, a grocery store, a national bookstore and several restaurants." So, we're going to go from a cool strip mall with Taj Mahal Imports, Hot Breads, Bombay Chinese, Udipi, etc., to one with tall facades, Office Depot (Staples as fallback), Best Buy (Circuit City as fallback), Tom Thumb (Minyard as fallback), Barnes & Noble (Borders as fallback), etc. Because that's progress. It's just what Dallas needs--another soulless strip mall with the usual lineup of chains.

The writing's on the wall, if the renovation moves forward. Cleaning it up won't remedy the main liability this strip mall (and Dal-Rich, which the article cites as one of the models for this redo) faces: North Dallas and Richardson has way the hell too much vacant retail space. Chances are the sweeping vision (i.e., "think Frisco in Richardson!") won't come to full fruition. But, after racking up nearly $4 million in capital expenses that will probably be passed through to tenants, the current tenants will almost certainly have to leave.

Taj Mahal Imports is one of the coolest markets in town. It'll be a shame to see them have to move or die.

J_Mortimer says:

Mr James Scott,

Don't be an idiot. I love the ethnic diversity of the city I've lived in for 4 decades. I wouldnt change it for anything. They are by no means "undesirable."

The issue is one of practicality and vitality of the neighborhood. Because of economics and retail trends, certain retail elements have left Richardson and other elements have come in. The fact is the people living in the local neighborhood have to drive miles and miles to certain practical activities. Meanwhile, the lack of Indians living the the surrounding neighborhoods (and they being the primary customers of these businesses) means they are driving miles and miles to get to this location. All these people are thereby wasting their time, money in the form of fuel, and contributing to congestion.

Is it such a horror that the local neighborhood would like a close retail local so that they don't have to trump across town for all manner of practical activity? Well, it seems the free market undrastands this demand and is responding to it.

J

J_Mortimer says:

Scott,

Do you want to live in an area where almost anyone in the area has to drive miles for basic needs?

How close is the nearest clothing store, supermarket, coffee shop, cafe, that suits your needs? If the answer is that its a very short distance, then you have no room for complaint. If you haven't lived in a place where those are some distance away, and done so for an extended period then you really don't understand what the issue is. It's not just one person but an entire neighborhood that has to deal with this.

I think all the Indian stuff is all well and good but I'm not going to eat Indian food and shop at Taj Mahal every day and nor is anyone in this neighborhood.

Its all well and good to go on self righeously (like an obnoxious Southern Baptist who says "live as I say so not as I live myself") about what is "soulless" from your arm chair urban planning position. However, unless you are willing to experience it and commit to it by living with it then you don't have an argument to stand on. It seems rather obvious that its soul is lacking if a resident has to drive over a mile to shop for groceries, sit down and have a cup of coffee, or he/she has to drive much farther than that just to buy a pair of pants. What we desire is get some of its soul back.

Call me silly but, I seriously doubt this neighborhood of 1950's pier and beam single story houses with sizes between 1300 and 1700 square feet most with one car garages is going to resemble Frisco anytime soon. Its seems you only look to the "cool" stores on the corner and begrudge the neighborhood living nearby.

How many times have you been to Taj Mahal in the past year and where do you live?

J

kirk says:

J:

I'd suggest that you only have to drive to the intersection of Campbell and Coit to find precisely the kind of retail environment you are looking for. That may be more than a mile (four miles, actually) from your neighborhood, but this is Texas. It's more than a mile to the nearest major intersection in most of the suburbs.

ryetronics says:

I live in Richardson Heights as well, and I'm excited about this for two reasons.

1. Convenience for what I'm looking for. I personally have never stepped foot in Taj Mahal or TJ Maxx, so having a Starbucks, Barnes and Nobles or whatever ends up there will be a plus.
   

2. The hope that upgrading the shopping center will raise my property's value in the neighborhood.

If you look at the City Plan for Richardson, which is on their website for all to see, making the Heights Shopping Center more modern in feel and clientele is exactly what the city if trying to accomplish. There is a map that marks all the areas that are going to be upgraded, and they include all along 75, and all along Spring Valley (which REALLY needs a change for the better in my opinion). With Spring Valley, apparently the city of Dallas is willing to cooperate with Richardson to renovate that entire area, including some of the apartments. Como Motel won't be standing in 5 years, which again I see as a good thing. This is the best approach for Richardson to stay strong in the coming years since it's one of the few cities around here without a literal "downtown" area. We'll see if that changes when all the construction is finished at Galatyn.

Personally, I think it would be amazing if Central Market opened a store in Heights, or something similiar to it. A niche, healthy grocer would be a hit with all the young families moving into the area.

And as for the ethnic stores in the area, I love them. Greenville and Beltline has been a great location for all those restaurants and stores to thrive, so the loss of Heights to these places that will be eventually pushed out (Taj Mahal, Palomino Buffet, etc.) is okay by me because there are plenty of other empty buildings in the area that they could relocate to.

By the way, does anyone else have the image of Palomino's serving horse meet with that sign they use? Maybe it's just me.

J_Mortimer says:

James Scott,

I didn't call anyone an idiot. Go read it again.

J

perrettaguitars says:

I'm far from soulless, but I work in the area, and would find retail establishments such as a grocery store, book store, coffee shop, more restaurants to be a good thing.

J_Mortimer says:

Kirk,

Lack of quality retail establishments is one of the prime issues in the upcoming city council elections if not the top issue. The lack of quality retail is an issue not for only my neighborhood but most of the city.

Contrary to your claims there are many things that cannot reasonably be purchased within the City of Richardson and that has changed dramatically for the worse within the past few years. In canvassing for certain city council candidates this election season that is one of the most frequent refrains that I hear. I hear it from 20-somethings to little old ladies who have been there for decades. I frequently hear what list of goods must be purchased by driving to Plano or Dallas.

There are entire shopping centers that have been vacant. The corner of University Village at Plano and Belt Line has been vacant for ten years until recently and the old Richardson Square Mall has been near vacant for years.

This situation presents practical problems for city operations. If retail establishments, which residents are going to visit anyway, exist outside the city limits then the city loses that sales tax revenue to those other cities. To make this up, the city must raise property taxes or cut services. This results in a vicious cycle wherein people wont move here and therefore it drives demand down more resulting in less retail and so on again.

This may seem like a matter of taste and convenience to some but its a serious problem of urban growth. There are parts of Richardson that are teetering on the verge of plunging into ghettodom and some would argue they are on the way. Keep in mind these were once fashionable neighborhoods. Heck! My neighborhood was once home to Mike Ditka and other assorted sports types. Whoopee do but it is an example of changing fortunes. This situation is not unusual in the evolution of American cities as many fashionable spots have later changed into slums with all the assorted problems.

Your comments that one can just go a little farther down the road are belied by the realities and extent of the problem and the realities that first ring suburbs face in American metropolitan areas.

I think Teresa is quite astute to latch on to the symbolism of Starbucks.

J

ryetronics says:

@J_Mortimor,

Ditka lived in Heights?? Would you happen to know where exactly? Who else of names'sake have lived in our neighborhood? I'm only a 5 year resident.

J_Mortimer says:

A bunch of Dallas Cowboys from way back in the late 60s and early 70s. Roger Staubach was said to be one by an old timer here. I'm not a football fan so I don't remember. I don't recall the rest. I'd have to go ask one of the old timers again.

BTW, what counts as Heights is kind of vague. Heights Park is way up by Arapaho and Floyd but the Heights neighborhood association doesn't go north of Belt Line.

You had all sorts of people living in Southern Richardson.

Anne Rice - She reportedly went to Richardson High School and allegedly met her future husband there.

Carla Overbeck - Woman's soccer player and Captain of the US team that won the gold medal in Atlanta and the World Cup.

Steve Benson - The Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist now at the Arizona Republic.

Jessica Simpson originally lived in south Richardson and then ended up attending Pearce High School although she didnt graduate from there. I don't know how that happened. Maybe her parents moved to North Dallas. That childhood home was up for sale within the past year and there were pictures on the internet. I'd better not say more than that or we will have flaming Jessica fans coming down on us just like the Clay Aiken fans. I still don't know who Clay Aiken is.

There are a bunch of sports people and some minor actors who grew up here but I don't remember all of them.

J