Frequently, I get asked, “ Why can’t St. Charles get X to come to town?”

X might be a high-end steak house or an upscale apparel retailer or a big box that specializes in hunting/fishing/camping products.  Local residents see some of these stores opening in other nearby suburban areas and ask themselves, ”Why not St. Charles?”  

We all want the best in retail opportunities for the community and while there are many circumstances that impact retailer decision-making (the state of the economy being the most important), the answer to the question in most cases has to do with the amount of total purchasing power of the market area.

St. Charles is widely known as an affluent community with relatively high household incomes. This is an advantage for us. But, retailers don’t just look at household income. They also want to know how many households there are within a given distance or “drive time.” In short, wealthy consumers are good, but having more of them is better.

Here is some of the text from a response that St. Charles received from a retailer that analyzed our market (the details have been removed to protect the highly confidential and proprietary nature of the information related to this company’s market criteria):

To determine St. Charles’ relative strength in terms of actual buying power, the City’s Economic Development Department has conducted some comparative analyses between St. Charles and 6 other major commercial centers in the Chicagoland suburban area:

1. Yorktown Mall (Lombard),
2. Oak Brook Shopping Center,
3. The Arboretum (South Barrington),
4. Downtown Naperville,
5. Old Orchard (Skokie), and
6. Woodfield Mall (Schaumburg)

The analysis is predicated on market reach, as determined by fixed drive times – a frequent variable in retail location decisions. When considering median household income for persons residing within a 15-minute drive time, St. Charles (measured from the center of downtown) compares favorably to all 6 markets studied.  In short, St. Charles is an attractive location from this perspective.

However, a market’s median household income data represents only a part of the equation in determining its household buying power. That equation must also consider the total number of households (or customers) within the defined market.  When looking at these same markets, at 10, 15, and 20-minute drive times, in ALL cases, the St. Charles market buying power is vastly exceeded by the comparative commercial centers. By way of example, within a 15-minute drive time, the comparison centers range from 1.7 (The Arboretum) to 4.6 (Oakbrook) times the buying power of the St. Charles market.

The graph above portrays the above-described comparison between household buying power for the aforesaid market areas (excluding expenditures for transportation and housing).  The greater the reach, typically, the larger the delta between St. Charles and each of the other 6 markets.  Again, this is a function of surrounding land use patterns and the low concentration of residences. 

We love our natural areas and open space in Kane County. It makes for lower traffic volumes, greater recreational opportunities, and a more attractive place to live. However, it also removes land from the “market” and provides fewer opportunities for development. Other land uses, such as the DuPage Airport, golf courses, mega-churches, and large-lot residential development also impact the buying power of St. Charles.

Let me be clear – I am not saying that the wrong choices have been made with regards to land-use decisions. I am only saying that we must consider the impact of these decisions on the ability to attract commercial development (quality and quantity).

Additionally, current trends in housing starts, and the real estate market in general, do not bode well for any dramatic change in circumstances or a resulting increase in our local market buying power. 

While St. Charles compares favorably with other suburban retail markets in terms of household affluence, we lag in terms of total buying power due to a greatly reduced number of households/consumers. This serves as one of the primary reasons that some retailers will not consider the Tri-Cities area. It also serves as one of the primary challenges that St. Charles faces in attempting to attract some high-end retailers and restaurants to our community.

While more residences in the market area would increase our purchasing power, many other criteria are, and should be, considered as part of the decision-making process.

Progress in bringing new stores and restaurants to St. Charles has accelerated in the past few months with many new establishments opening, or planning to open, in the First Street area. The developers of the project, 1st Street LLC, have recognized the need to be aggressive, and offer attractive and flexible leasing terms to businesses. Those efforts have paid off with leasing of retail space approaching 90%.  

The fantastic bakery Il Giardino del Dolce offers wonderful pastries and cookies (I love their coffee cakes). And, they offer delicious sandwiches and pizza slices at lunch. JP Jewelers is also located on 1st Street and the owner is a local resident who is well-known for his strong attention to the customer and providing quality products.   

The most recent addition is Wok n’ Fire restaurant. If you haven’t been there yet, I highly recommend it. And from the large number of people dining (or waiting to dine), I’d say I’m not alone. The Pan Asian cuisine is fantastic and the decor adds to the quality of the dining experience.  

Tenants that have signed leases and will open during 2010 include:   

• Prasino restaurant
• Ginger Root Hair Salon
• Boudoir French – a themed nail salon and day spa
• Jeans and a Cute Top Shop – women’s apparel (opening their 2nd store – the original location is in Wheaton)
• Brix Wine and Cheese
• Pizzeria Neo – a brick oven pizza restaurant

These tenants will contribute to the new energy in downtown St. Charles that has been spurred by existing tenants and other area businesses including Za Za Trattoria, Eddie Caruso salon, and Rx Cafe (in the former Knight’s Court space on Main Street).  

And, it has been recently announced that McNally’s Irish Pub will be moving to the 1st Street area by Memorial Day, 2010. Maurice McNally has purchased the former Miguel’s restaurant space at 109 W. Main Street and will be starting the renovation process soon.  

Main Street facade of the new McNally's

If you haven’t been to First Street recently, make it a priority. You can obtain quality products and services from top-notch businesses. And, you can park in the clean, safe, and convenient parking structure located in close proximity to all of these establishments.  

Come to 1st Street and see what you’re missing!

The subject of Charlestowne Mall comes up in many conversations that I have with people throughout the community. Whether you live downtown, on the east side, or on the west side, people are curious. So, let me share what we know.    

Charlestowne Mall on East Main Street in St. Charles

First, the mall property is part of an investment vehicle called a REMIC that pools commercial mortgages and then issues securities to investors. A company in Overland Park, Kansas services the Charlestowne REMIC and has been working to sell the property for several months.   

Second, the City has learned of two bona fide interests to purchase the property. One of these offers has resulted in an executed purchase contract. The contract is still open, with the buyer group continuing its due diligence. The City has been informed that a sales agreement appears to be in the works and that a closing could take place in a few weeks.   

Having said that, we know that things can happen to cause pending sales of this magnitude to go awry. For that reason, we must remain cautiously optimistic.   

The good news is that we have a very willing seller in this case. Further good news is that the City stands ready to assist both a prospective buyer and the seller to facilitate the sale and revitalization of this critical property.   

The unfortunate news is that while the negotiations continue, leases may expire without renewal and/or extension. As such, while stores continue to close, it is likely that, at least for the time being, the Charlestowne Mall occupancy rate will not get better and could very well worsen.   

If there is some silver lining to the otherwise cloudy forecast, we understand that Classic Cinemas and the 4 anchors (Kohls, Carsons, Sears and Von Maur) are more or less holding their own – within the context of an overall tough economy, of course – and the City has heard nothing about any of these five businesses having any current plans to vacate the mall.   

As soon as a sale is concluded, it will be in everyone’s best interest to make the transaction public – generating new interest and buzz. We also hope that plans for revitalization will soon follow.