From Small to Mall, Shoppers Have it All
From Small to Mall, Shoppers Have it All
Paraphrased Article: Outlook 2006-A special section of Topics Newspapers and The Noblesville Ledger
Retail-store developers are blueprinting ways to quench a growing thirst for shopping-as-entertainment in a village like setting.
So as developers follow the roof-tops to the suburbs, home buyers follow the sidewalks to convenience and efficiency. New venues in Hamilton County will continue to fan the comeback of open-air retail shopping.
“People are choosing to locate where services are close to home” she said. “They don’t want to drive 20 minutes to shop” says Mo Merhoff, president of the Carmel Clay Chamber of Commerce.
Developers say shoppers want to see ambient architecture, mill with other people and find unique stores. Shoppers see their walking as exercise and prefer to do it outdoors.
Saxony, a 725-acre development with ground in Fishers and Noblesville is a mixed-use development which is home to Deer Creek Shops, built by a previous owner as an outlet mall when population in the area was sparse. Deer Creek is now a successful retail center looking to bring in more tenants, said Rick Arnos, owner of Republic Development Corp., based in Toledo, Ohio. Saxony will bring in some 800 rooftops, along with a village concept. A 35-acre retail community center at Olio Road and 136th Street will continue the theme, which Arnos says is what Saxony is all about. The village concept, he said, “Gives people an opportunity to be outdoors, even in winter time, to mix and get fresh air.”
Public meetings and stakeholder groups have indicated a trend toward traditional boutiques, locally owned stores and small bistros, said Ehren Bingaman, executive director of the Fort Harrison Reuse Authority. Less vehicle traffic makes pedestrian-oriented uses positive, in addition to making for cleaner air and less dirty-water runoff, Bingaman said. “Maybe, just maybe, the way it was 50 years ago isn’t all that bad. The old town square was really quite efficient” says Ehren Bingaman, executive director of the Fort Harrison Reuse Authority.
