What happens when you build to serve vehicles exclusively? The Shoppes at Wyndham Ghost Town

Yesterday, a beautiful Sunday (low humidity, mid-seventies), I traveled to Franklin's Shoppes at Wyndham Village to see how this relatively new component of the local "social ecosystem" was being utilized on such a perfect day.

The answer? Let's just say that all that were missing were tumbleweeds.

ABOVE: Ferch's in Franklin.

Blame the economy? The fact is, at that very hour (about 5pm), while the Shoppes at Wyndham Village version of Ferch's Malt Shoppe was completely customer-free, the original Ferch's in Greendale (see photo below, taken 45 minutes later) was bustling with people - as is typical - inside and out.

Two Ferch's on the same sunny afternoon. What's the difference?

I saw vehicles come and go from Target at the Franklin Shoppes complex on a fairly regular basis. From the looks of it, these were all fairly joyless excursions; single-purpose errands for practical necessities (though one guy came out with a flat-screen TV and a huge smile). Everyone took straight-line courses from their vehicle to the Target entrance and back again. Occasionally you would see someone emerge with a coffee cup, having stopped at Target's in-store Starbucks.

ABOVE: Ferch's in Greendale.

A different story at the original Greendale Ferch's. There is a shaded, building-enveloped courtyard; on this afternoon, every table save one or two were occupied. Young families, elderly couples, groups of teens, etc., all shared this comfortable space and casually interacted. People walked between the courtyard tables and the adjacent park and coffee shop (the small neighboring stores were mostly closed for the day), stopping periodically to greet neighbors and acquaintances. And almost everyone I passed said hi to me as well.

An adjacent park, welcoming "outdoor room" courtyard environment, pedestrian- and bike-friendly local streets, and attached neighborhood make Ferch's of Greendale a vibrant public space. And commercially lucrative.

Back at Wyndham Village, I noticed a couple of random benches on islands in the asphalt sea. I sat on one for a while -- long enough to contemplate exactly where I was. Why would anyone want to sit right here, in the middle of... nothing? What would bring a person to this particular bench in a strip mall like this, so obscenely out of synch with any sense of human scale?

Benches?

Judging by the quizzical looks emanating from the windows of vehicles whizzing past me, I was not the only one wondering what I was doing there.

 

ABOVE: Ghost town.

I walked the entire Shoppes complex via the exposed strip of sidewalk; no enclosing "street wall" of mature trees and/or buildings to create a comfortable walking environment. I was the lone person on foot in the entire area for the entire period of my visit; again, cars passed me and looked me over as though I was dressed at the lead guitarist for KISS (which I was not). Needless to say, no one said "hi." After all, what the heck was I doing there?!?!

No, the people of Greendale are not inherently friendlier than the people in Franklin. This is an example of how our built environment creates us as much as we create it. Build formless, uninspiring, unwelcoming commercial spaces and you create single-purpose destinations that discourage the sorts of interaction and "lingering" that is crucial to the success of local (i.e. non-big box) businesses -- and, by extension, you strangle local economic livelihood. Who's in a hurry to lease space here as opposed to any other anonymous strip mall?

By contrast, Greendale offers a superior physical environment that attracts people whether or not they need to shop. The small, locally-owned businesses benefit, and a real community is maintained. 

More on this later ...

More photos at: Shoppes at Wyndham Ghosttown - a set on Flickr:

Comments

[Dave Reid]

The "sidewalks" and fancy stamped/colored pavement is odd because nobody will ever walk on.

[John Michlig]

The message there is, "Sidewalk?!?!? Here's your freaking SIDEWALK!"

Much less useful and pleasant than simply perfunctory.

[Anon]

I was there on 8/3 with my family at 8 PM at night. Target looked like they were ready to close then, the Starbucks and Food Court were already closed, and it seemed like a ghost town in there. We went to Ferch's, and there was like 10 people in there when we started, and another 10 people came in while we were having our desserts.

I think you have to give it time. There's nothing there to attract people to that location yet. Huntington Learning Center's looked like they were finished with drywall, and Cousins and the haircut place were closed.

I remember when the Target in New Berlin was like a ghost town the first year or so as well. The same with the Target in Oak Creek. I'm happy that it's a Target, and not a Wal-Mart.

[J. Strupp]

As was proven by Sendik's closing in less than a year, these establishments do not have the luxury to "give it time".

Side note:

The haircut place wasn't closed. It was never completed.

[PB]

If you want to see an example of what time can do to a new commercial development, go visit the New Berlin City Center. Since opening in late 2005, it went from being a promising development to a weed infested ghost town. Baker’s Ice Cream is gone. IHOP is gone. Dinner by Design and Great Wraps are barely clinging to life.

Ferch’s will have an uphill climb to get the Shoppes at Wyndham Village location up to the business that the Greendale location has. The reason Ferch’s is successful in Greendale is primarily because of location. The operation is chaotic and unsanitary. Employees rarely wear gloves when handling food. Heck, they don’t even wash their hands before handling food even after handling money.

As a native of Greendale, and now a Franklin resident for nearly 20 years, my wife and I visit the village center to eat at Ricardos, walk, and enjoy the gazebo concerts during the summer. None of that exists in Franklin. Further, the Franklin Ferch’s is cannibalizing some of the Greendale business instead of generating all new business.

Unless the Shoppes can bring in some good quality tenants that draw many more people into the center, Ferch’s and Cousins won’t last long. People like me who shopped at Sendik’s will just go over to the one on Rawson. Pick’n’Save won’t be able to retain all of the Sendik’s shoppers.