Walked into Harbor Village for the very first time this past week and was shocked to see how little life there was in the place.
Now, as the project was being built, I didn’t think it would be good for the Coastside. It seemed out of scale and didn’t really fit the feel of the community. Up till now, I never had a reason to visit the place.
First off, the entrance to the complex is somewhat hidden from the main road behind the free-standing cafe (who designed that ill-advised arrangement?) Once inside, all I heard was the echoing of my footsteps against a backdrop of hollow Christmas music. There was not a customer in sight.
I think there were only 5-6 stores occupying the mall, with 2 or 3 times that in empty storefronts. It was quite depressing.
I feel for the merchants who surely opened there with high hopes. But the economy, poor promotion, lack of critical mass of stores, and perhaps a flawed business plan for the complex itself, have all conspired to make for a sad situation.
Getting the occupancy rate up would definitely help things. Is the management holding out to a unrealistic price per square foot?
Will new merchants, ones who cater more to locals find more loyal (and regular) customers?
Will increased marketing efforts make a difference?
For me, I don’t think I’ll ever set foot in the place again, and I certainly wouldn’t bring any visitors there.
Accident between car and cyclist has closed Hwy 1 southbound at Devil's Slide, Mar 17 7:30pm, Kevin Barron — “Any word on how the bicyclist is doing?” Here you go… your updates can be found here: http://cad.chp.ca.gov/ but, perhaps you don’t care if the car, after hitting a reckless cyclist (for the sake of assume, which I assume you are doing, as is ...
Accident between car and cyclist has closed Hwy 1 southbound at Devil's Slide, Mar 17 5:40pm, Jim Sullivan — Any word on how the bicyclist is doing? ...
Congresswoman Jackie Speier in Pacifica, Saturday, Mar 16 2:11pm, Barry Parr — I’m not interested in debating the issue here, but Kevin’s use of the quotes around the word “need” reminded me of these awesome charts from http://fivethirtyeight.com Gallup provided the verbatim responses of the rationales given by people who ...
Congresswoman Jackie Speier in Pacifica, Saturday, Mar 16 1:46pm, Kevin Barron — This should be interesting. I’m guessing she’ll pull her best Ginger Rogers, dancing in synch with the “need” for health care reform, and sashaying skirting around the “way” Obamacare is being pushed by Congress. I’m curious where she REALLY ...
Pacifica examines widening part of Hwy 1 to six lanes, Mar 15 9:49pm, Carl May — No, Route 1 does not become a freeway north of Reina del Mar in Pacifica. There is side traffic from the police station, the orchid nursery/GGNRA trailhead, Mori Point Road, and, especially, the dangerous intersection of Westport after RdM. Then ...
Pacifica examines widening part of Hwy 1 to six lanes, Mar 15 6:16pm, Barry Parr — We use the vet on that stretch of Hwy 1. A couple of years ago, we took Fireball to the vet. Julia was six and as soon as she got out of the car, she put her hands on her ears. I don’t blame her. I’ve been keeping track of sound levels in my ...
The Coastside's uninsured need your help, Mar 15 5:51pm, Suzanne Black — Excellent article, Cheryl. It brings home the national argument over health care reform. So much misinformation in the media and blogs! But it boils down to how we treat our neighbors—and our own and our families’ futures. Your advice is our best ...