Mid-Atlantic department store chain Boscov?s plans to open three stores in the region in late October. That?s good news for local consumers. We hope that if the stores, which provide goods and services attractive to growing families, are successful in the suburbs, Boscov?s will open downtown too.
Downtown residents have not had the luxury of shopping in a classic department store for nearly two decades.
Hecht?s closed in 1989, following a trend that started in the 1970s. If Boscov?s comes downtown, can Nordstrom?s, Filene?s Basement and Macy?s be far behind?
Baltimore is not alone in losing downtown department stores. Most have closed shop and moved to strip malls in the suburbs following customers fleeing the city. But under Mayor Martin O?Malley?s tenure fewer people are deciding to leave. And abundant plans for high-end condos in and around the Inner Harbor mean more residents with money to spend will live nearby.
Why should those from Federal Hill and the other 36,000 downtown residents have to forfeit parking spaces to drive to the suburbs to shop?
And why should the city lose taxes to surrounding counties?
Electronics store Best Buy already made the plunge. So did shops in The Gallery. None of those businesses would have opened without first analyzing residential demographics.
We?d like to know which stores the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore are luring to the city and when they will come. Who knows, with a few more stores the city population could start to increase.
