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Think Global, Eat Local

The more I visit, the more I'm pulling for the experiment to succeed. The recently opened Global Marketplace in the Midtown Exchange is an exciting prospect for the future of small & big business coming together for adaptive reuse and neighborhood revitalization. The marketplace has an eclectic mix of vendors, foods and spaces that look on the surface very organic and truly "global" in nature. Look a bit closer and it looks and sounds like there are key components still waiting to be ironed out. I see that the marketplace is still only two thirds occupied and even a few spaces looked abandoned during the build. I hear the cost to get in and get going is costly and controlled tightly by the developer. All good things toward running a professional and well managed center of commerce if the sales per foot can justify the costs. And that of course, is what the area needed in order to see the potential turn around its now in. Regardless, its pretty cool to go and get a tamale and watch an African drum circle or get a Gyro and take in a World Cup match in a architectural gem like the old Sears building. The marketplace's proximity to Abbott Northwestern and as an alternative to McDonald's doesn't hurt either.

posted by adam commercial @ 7:12 AM