PRINT THIS STORY:

CHANGE TEXT SIZE:

Grand plans

Getting commuters to think like shoppers

By Edmund Mander

---

It's hard to believe that the marketing manager of a shopping center visited by half a million people a day would have much to do or worry about.

But activity in the marketing department of the recently renovated Grand Central Terminal in New York City has been frenzied over the past year, as the effort is under way to turn passengers at the rail terminal's new retail complex into shoppers, while overcoming problems inherent in the rebuilding and rethinking of a historic building.

"When you have an 85-year-old facility that has always been known strictly as a transportation facility, to get people to change perceptions and also to think of it as shopping and dining is a monumental marketing challenge," said Paul Kastner, SCMD, vice president of Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, and director of marketing at Grand Central. "People are still learning about Grand Central."

So, it would seem, are the tenants, particularly those selling food.

Grand Central's restaurants range from the famous Oyster Bar to newcomers such as the Campbell Apartments wine bar; Michael Jordan's: The Steakhouse; Zócalo, a Mexican eatery; and Mike's Take Away. Some are formal, sit-down establishments, while others, on the lower-level dining concourse, offer take-out food.

Retailers include Banana Republic, J. Peterman, Kenneth Cole and dozens of New York establishments, such as Citarella, the renowned New York meat, fish and gourmet food store.

Retail meets rush hour at New York City's Grand Central Terminal.

Not everything has gone smoothly, however. Some tenants complained bitterly this summer about construction and finishing delays, which a few blamed on G.C.T. Ventures, the development and leasing agents for the terminal. G.C.T. Ventures is a partnership between Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, the real estate management services company, and Williams Jackson Ewing, of Baltimore, the same team that renovated Union Station in Washington, D.C., turning its concourse into an upscale mall. Ewing, as of press time, had not returned calls for comment.

Campbell Apartments opened two years behind schedule this summer, and about 30% over its original $1 million budget. Zócalo, itself eight months behind schedule, opened in June only to discover that it had failed to follow the proper procedure in its application for a gas line. Until the gas was turned on two months later, staff were forced to bring food down from its other restaurant by taxi.

"It took about two years, which for less than 4,000 feet of space is incredible," said Mark Grossich, one of the owners of Campbell Apartments, which opened in early September. "People build skyscrapers in less time than that."

Grossich attributed the delay to the multiple agencies involved in Grand Central, from which tenants need approvals during construction.

"The city's involved; the state's involved; the federal government's involved; there are other organizations involved, development companies, the unions of course; the MTA, who is the landlord; MetroNorth, who is the operating entity," he said, catching his breath. "You know, that's an awful lot of people to please."

Grand Harvest Wines opened a year late, and three times over budget, according to owner Bruce Nevins.

"It's an old building, and there were many construction problems," he said. "There were many design criteria changes that we were totally unaware of at the beginning that we wound up with during preconstruction and construction."

By August, Grand Harvest Wines had been open six months, but it still was not doing the business Nevins had anticipated, due to delays in the opening of a meat, fish and produce market that G.C.T. Ventures plans to open nearby. Until the market opens, there will be very little traffic past Nevins' store, which lies near Track 17 in a corner of the terminus.

"We spent a tremendous amount on restoring our property here," he explained, describing how he has taken pains to restore the character of his space, which during the 1930s served as a cinema. It has a 25-foot high domed ceiling, and is decorated with murals and marble.

Nevins sounded tired and resigned in describing the problems he has confronted over the past year, but his voice brightened when talking about the future.

"I'm very optimistic that when everything's all done, it should work out real well," he said. "The potential is very exciting."

Other tenants who have faced less serious problems are more sanguine about their first months at the terminus.

"I don't think that there was anything that happened that was extraordinary or unusual for this size and scope of project," said Laura Pintchik, owner of The Children's General Store, which sells educational and handcrafted toys. Like most tenants at Grand Central, Pintchik is a local retailer with one other store in the city. She opened her Grand Central location in October last year, one of the first to do so.

 

Retailers' opinions on the state of Grand Central Terminal vary.

"Initially there's always problems, especially when you're doing renovations, you expect that," agreed Wil Santos, general manager at the Kenneth Cole store. "It goes with the territory of opening up a new store."

Neither retailer complained about problems finding customers.

"The business here is really good," Santos said, adding that "hundreds" of customers come into his store each day. "You've such an influx of people, and different types of people."

Customers range from tourists to corporate commuters, and also include nearby office workers and noncommuting residents.

But many people still see Grand Central as only a terminus. To change that perception, G.C.T. Ventures is stressing its nontransportation-related facets in a bus, train and subway advertising campaign called "Uniquely Grand Central," and has also dropped literature onto the seats of trains -- so-called "seat drops" -- during the rush hour.

"We're trying to get people to understand, the commuters especially, that you can shop quickly in the morning and pick up your meals on the way home," Kastner said.

The produce market, which Grand Central said would most likely be open by October, is designed to make grocery shopping easier and more interesting, with 28 vendors selling meat, fish and fresh produce. Located on a former loading dock on the main concourse level, it will serve as a marked contrast to the packaged goods suburban dwellers might be accustomed to at their supermarkets, Kastner observed.

To attract noncommuting New York residents, advertisements trumpeting Grand Central's retail and restaurants have been placed in, among other media, New York magazine, a weekly publication that New Yorkers use to plan their week's recreational itinerary.

That recreational itinerary, incidentally, might also be bringing New Yorkers into Grand Central itself. The station's Vanderbilt Hall and other spaces are in high demand for art exhibitions, music performances and other events. This summer, students from the School of Visual Arts built a carousel featuring figures that they perceived to be icons of the 20th Century, including Albert Einstein, Elvis Presley and Howard Stern.

In a more direct effort to promote the station's retail, G.C.T. Ventures recently commissioned an artist to create a poster depicting the carousel and a ballerina, which was then offered free to people who showed a receipt for $25 worth of purchases or more from any of Grand Central's retailers.

The campaign sparked a welcome boost to sales, according to retailers.

"That's great self-promotion, we had tons of people who came in asking about that," said Santos, the Kenneth Cole manager. "It works, it's great PR."

As of press time, no figures were available showing if Grand Central has been successful at attracting noncommuting customers into its stores and restaurants, Kastner said, adding that it will take some time to shift people's perception of the place.

But maintaining a steady stream of activities and promotions is essential if Grand Central is to blossom as a retail destination, tenants say.

"I would like to concentrate more on getting people who live in the area, which is a big part of what could be our business," Pintchik said. "I think people in midtown are so starved for a really exciting retail experience that they could appreciate so much the stores at Grand Central."

Kastner said he intends to get more of both commuters and residents into the station's retail and restaurant areas, maintaining a steady barrage of promotions. "In a nutshell, it's getting Grand Central to be known as a new destination."

As of press time, a celebration had been scheduled for last month to mark the opening of Grand Central's 120 or so stores and restaurants. Besides store promotions and restaurant food samplings, planned activities included music in the lower concourse and a series of performances of a dance that was commissioned and performed 10 years ago specifically for the gantries of Grand Central's huge windows.

"Everything is to do with movement," said Kastner, noting the celebration's title, "Grand Central in Motion."

In October 1998, the terminus was packed with spectators for another celebration, at which they heard the late John F. Kennedy Jr. and New York Gov. George Pataki pronounce the completion of a three-year, $197 million renovation of the station. It was Kennedy's mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who led a 10-year fight to stop developers from demolishing the Beaux Arts transportation palace.

Millions of people have visited Grand Central, and its fame has spread to millions more around the world. But Kastner and his colleagues have had to work hard, nevertheless, to spread the word that there is something new about this grand old lady.

© 2012 ICSC. All rights reserved. | Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy | Contact ICSC | ICSC Home |