Place Marie, located at 52 North Queen Street, was acquired by its current owners in 1990, and during those early days, “business was booming,” according to property manager Nellie Wallace. Today, however, the indoor shopping center has struggled to keep its spaces filled—especially since the closing of the Ad Lib Café last December.
The little mall boasts an impressive, labyrinthine structure—positioned to welcome multiple streams of downtown foot traffic with its entrances on North Queen, West Orange, and Market Street. A picturesque courtyard is showcased at the center of the complex through tall, generous windows. All in all, Place Marie offers one of downtown Lancaster’s most inspired commercial environments. But lately, inspiration has not been paying the bills.
Of the shopping center’s ten spaces, three are currently unoccupied. While three out of ten may not sound so bad, it is important to note that this includes the 5,400 square foot “anchor” space that most recently housed the Ad Lib Café. Additionally, some of the units currently rented are not being used for typical retail functions. So, on a weekday afternoon, the quiet halls of Place Marie would suggest an even lower rate of occupancy than is currently the case.
The core problem, according to Wallace, is a lack of exposure. These indoor “storefronts,” no matter how attractively laid out, are simply less apt to draw the attention of city pedestrians compared to their more visible counterparts. “Everybody wants frontage,” Wallace explained.
The Pottery Works, probably the most successful tenant at Place Marie, carries the benefit of a visible storefront along West Orange Street.
For those shops based within the greater facility, Wallace noted, vacancy rates are often self perpetuating: As the number of active businesses shrinks, so does the pedestrian draw, and vice versa, and so on. “If you have the place full, it just makes a difference,” Wallace asserted.
Randy Patterson, the City’s director of economic development and neighborhood revitalization, said that one of the challenges often faced by interior malls—no matter where they are located—is effective exposure to pedestrian traffic. “If you don’t have close to full occupancy, its difficult to get that foot traffic,” Patterson observed.
According to Wallace, the 2009 opening of the downtown Lancaster County Convention Center has not made matters any better: “Everyone thought that the convention center was going to help—maybe it will,” Wallace said, “But I don’t think it’s happening right now.”
Wallace said that recently a couple of leads have been lined up for the former Ad Lib space, though “nothing is in stone yet.” Likewise, the future of Place Marie itself remains an open question, according to Wallace. There has been some discussion to increase profitability by incorporating studio space or developing apartments within the property, Wallace said, but there are no immediate plans to pursue such measures.
The Place Marie is a wonderfully unique space. Don’t assume that windows are the key to success…..attractive, visual signage which includes the names of all the businesses in Place Marie on the Queen street and market street side would be helpful. Also, better lighting on the front and interior walkways would be helpful.
The front of the building needs updating and to be more visually appealing. When I was last at Place Marie, there was a store with used clothing in piles all over and a box with worn out sneakers by the front door. I did not even feel safe.
If possible, make the rents attractive to small start up businesses and work with them to achieve success. Offer the same attractive rate to the existing businesses and ask those owners to suggest businesses who might be interested in locating to Place Marie
I believe if the owner asked his present, loyal renters for suggestions, he would know what needs to be done to make Place Marie a “cool” place to be.