The Market for Commercial Development in Lansdowne
Retail Spending Potential in the Lansdowne Market Area
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Following is our estimate of the amount of retail space in selected categories that could be supported in Lansdowne at the current time, based upon our analysis of retail outflow and upon industry averages from the Urban Land Institute. A few words of explanation are appropriate at this point. Because Lansdowne’s population of 11,044 is the size of the population that is served by a neighborhood shopping center, we have used data for that type of center, rather than data for a larger community center serving a much larger population. Although Lansdowne is currently a dry community, this issue is expected to come up in a referendum in the spring. Therefore, we have showed retail potential for restaurants with and without liquor. Finally, if Lansdowne were to become more of a destination for its secondary market area, it could support additional restaurant space and would likely be able to do a larger volume of sales per square foot.
The following uses are those that showed a substantial retail outflow, and the greatest retail potential for the Borough. While the restaurant is clearly the one with the greatest potential, this potential will be filled incrementally because of the size and footprints of the buildings. The total unrealized restaurant potential is actually $10,000,000. There is no available data on which to base calculations of how much of this could be spent at restaurants with and without a liquor license, or even how much would be spent at restaurants serving liquor and how much would be spent at bars. However, if this potential were divided between restaurants with liquor and restaurants without liquor, each would have a potential of $5,000,000.
Women’s clothing also has some potential for the Borough, but because such a large proportion of these purchases are made in department stores or at locations where buyers can comparison shop, the numbers may promise more in this category than can be realized. Finally, since the time that data was purchased from Claritas, a small independent bookstore has opened in the Borough. Because of the large retail outflow, we believe that there may be room for one or more additional small, independent specialty bookstores.
UNREALIZED RETAIL POTENTIAL IN PRIMARY MARKET AREA
| Retail Type | Median Sales Per Sq.Ft.* | Unrealized Retail Potential ($) | Retail Square Footage |
| Restaurant without Liquor | $175.28 | $10,000,000* | 28,526 |
| Restaurant with Liquor | $271.60 | * | 18,409 |
| Women’s Clothing** | $409.28 | $5,000,000 | 12,217 |
| Book Store | $127.29 | $2,700,000 | 21,211 |
Source: Dollars & Cents of Shopping Centers: 2002, Urban Land Institute
US Neighborhood Shopping Centers
*$10,000,000 indicates potential for all restaurants, with and without liquor. Square footage estimates are based upon an assumption of $5,000,000 for each restaurant type.
**Average of women’s specialty and ready-to-wear
As noted earlier in this report, there are no sporting goods, bicycle, camera, card and gift shops, or photographic supply stores in the Borough. There is one hobby/toy/game shop with estimated sales of about $200,000. However, estimated expenditures by Lansdowne households for sports and recreation of all sorts (including theatre and sporting events as well as equipment purchases), are about $6 million. Although it is impossible to pinpoint the amount of money that could be spent in the Borough for sports and recreation by category, the retail outflow indicates that there is some potential in the community for these types of retailing. The following table summarizes the median size of the types of stores that are most likely to succeed in the Borough, based upon national averages from the Urban Land Institute’s Dollars and Cents of Shopping Centers.
SQUARE FOOTAGE OF TYPICAL RETAIL STORES IN NEIGHBORHOOD AND COMMUNITY CENTERS
| Retail Type | Neighborhood Center (Sq. Ft.) | Community Center (Sq. Ft.) |
| Restaurant without Liquor | 2,400 | 3,113 |
| Restaurant with Liquor | 3,360 | 5,124 |
| Women’s Specialty | 1,483 | 3,021 |
| Women’s Ready-to-Wear | 2,250 | 4,147 |
| Book Store | 3,200 | 4,410 |
| Sporting Goods Store | 3,150 | 6,008 |
| Bicycle Store | NA | 3,757 |
| Camera Shop | 2,400 | 1,501 |
| Card/Gift Shop | 2,533 | 4,000 |
Source: Dollars & Cents of Shopping Centers: 2002, Urban Land Institute