Every day, the Urban Outfitters on Ponce gets a little bit more finished looking. The construction crew is often there quite late. At first I was pissed off about an Urban Outfitters intown, and specifically in my neighborhood, and even more specifically in that strip. But after seeing a number of businesses there come and go – in Urban Outfitters’ current space as well as the Korean barbecue, the used book store, 7 Mississippi, the Spacetime Institute – and wondering how long the Plaza can hang on, I think UO could be an appropriate boost to those smaller businesses. I am also secretly thrilled to have one more semi-affordable clothing store within walking distance, even if it’s all sweatshop-made and you can only hand wash UO’s cheap fabrics in Woolite or they’ll inevitably pill up like nobody’s business. Right now the two shops in my everyday price range that I can walk to only sell things made out of jersey cotton and even I’m getting tired of that. I need some clothes that have buttons or collars on them.
My main concern, like every intown Atlantan’s, is what the store will mean for parking and traffic. Southbound traffic on N. Highland towards Ponce backs all the way up past Virginia Avenue on weekdays, and Ponce de Leon is diabolical in either direction no matter what. Drivers get desperate and risky at that intersection so it sucks to be a pedestrian, and because of Briarcliff Summit a lot of people crossing there are in wheelchairs.
My secondary concern is that none of the good stuff will ever go on clearance because it will get snatched up too quickly. If you want to find some awesome, deeply discounted items in the sale section of an Urban Outfitters, go to the one in downtown Columbus, Ohio. All the Ohio State students shopping there were just buying solid color sweatshirts and the faux-vintage novelty tees. Midwesterners!
On a related note, the old location of Atlanta Book Exchange at Virginia and N. Highland will soon be Urban Cottage. From the looks of their website it is just another frumpy home decor store with a lot of over-embellished suburban shit.
Previously: Retail tall tales
Agh!!!! I am so freakishly pissed off about this. A bunch of suburban teenagers on skateboards who need haircuts is not what I want to have to dodge when I’m going out for a coffee walk each weekend.
Ugh.