Say Goodbye to Banks and Dry Cleaners

 Lets face it, we're in a Retail Apocalypse. Brick and Mortar Retail is in a death spiral regardless of what niche of the market you're in. Although those most effected by this unfortunate turn of events is Big Box Retailers, enclosed Malls, and the department stores that anchor them, Neighborhood Realty or convenience Retail is being hit by this too. Need evidence? Look no further than Columbia's Village Centers.

The Village Centers used to be the only Retail found in Columbia. Before Dobbin Center, Columbia Crossing, Snowden Square etc., it was not uncommon to find shoe stores, clothing stores, or hardware stores in your Neighborhood Village Center. As the big box boom of the 1980s and '90s occurred, so too did the rise of empty spaces in Village Centers. Village Centers switched their focus away from Retail found in big boxes and specialized more in local everyday businesses.

Today, the relevance in Columbia's Village Centers are once again in Jeopardy. This time it is less because of the over saturation in the Grocery Store scene, restaurants in big box centers capturing the dinner crowds or lack of visibility from major roads. True, these are all very real factors at play, but the evolution of Retail itself on a national level. Despite this, the Village Centers must adapt once again.

In the 2000s Centers suffered blow when video stores and photo mats fell by the wayside. Today, it's Dry Cleaners and Banks. Indeed, go to any Village Center and you will notice that many are lacking these once proud staples of convenience Retail. Even a redevelopment success story such as Wilde Lake has neither of these. Some Village Centers that have had two Banks have fallen down to one such as Hickory Ridge, Owen Brown, and Kings Contrivance. Others have no Bank whatsoever such as Oakland Mills, Wilde Lake, Dorsey's Search, and Long Reach. River Hill and Harper's Choice remain the only Village Centers with two or more Banks.

Although this paints a bleak picture of Banks and their future at Columbia's Village Centers, when delving a little deeper you can sometimes see it's not as bad as it may look. First, look at Grocery Stores. In the case of Owen Brown and Dorsey's Search, a Bank Branch opened in their respective Giants. In Dorsey's Search, it's a PNC Bank which may have caused the closure of the Capital One nee Chevy Chase Bank. In Owen Brown, its Giant has a Capital One Bank which was a originally a Chevy Chase that operated within the Village Center before moving inside Giant.

In other instances, the constant acquisition of smaller Banks by larger Banks can lead to an over saturated amount of branches. The biggest culprit is the obsolescence of your average Bank Branch. True, most Americans have Bank Accounts but it's becoming more and more rare to have to go to the Bank. Grocery Stores, Pharmacies, and even Fast Food Restaurants have ATMs. Couple that with Direct Deposit and online Banking, your average consumer might only need to go a Bank Branch to open an IRA or take out a loan.

Now lets talk Dry Cleaners. This may be an easier explanation; People don't dress up like they used to. Remember when everybody wore suits and ties to work? Those days are long gone and won't be coming back anytime soon. You can now dress more casually and throw said casual clothes in the washer and dryer. Of course that's assuming you even commute! Telecommuting has allowed many people to simply work from home via the Internet. And nobody's going to dress up for that. These days most people only go to the Dry Cleaner's to get their one suit tailored.

So now that these integral facets of Columbia's Village Centers are fading fast, what will replace them? Well, lets look at what is successful in Village Centers and go from there. Most are Grocery Anchored by large footprint stores. An exception to this is Wilde Lake whose Grocer is the organic David's Natural Market and a new CVS. Another exception is Oakland Mills which has stepped away from a Main Stream Grocer by opening an LA Mart which is a small ethnic Grocery Chain that will capitalize on the area's diverse and robust immigrant population. Something the beleaguered Long Reach tried and failed at.

The one Business currently present at all nine Village Centers is a Liquor Store. That is one Business that the Internet has not marred and will not be absorbed by Grocery Stores. So what other Businesses can thrive at our Village Center in addition to Liquor Stores? One of my answers is small footprint Restaurants. The big chain restaurants found in big box centers are often bland in their offerings and don't provide an ethnic experience that is becoming more popular. This is where the Village Centers come in. They can provide that niche as Chinese, Sushi, Peruvian, Mexican, Indian, Korean, Pho, Thai, Ethiopian, and Vegan Fare in smaller footprint store fronts. Another staple to be found in Village Centers is the Barbershop and Hair and Nail Salon. 

Although we are in a Retail Apocalypse, convenience Retail hasn't been hit really as hard as other aspects of bricks and mortar Retail. As the Retail scene evolves, so too must our Village Centers to keep them viable. Having our Village Centers fail is simply not an option. When seeking new tenants, landlords however must say goodbye to Banks and Dry Cleaners.