I don’t like surprises. And even though the outgoing Chamber of Commerce president advised me not to pre-stress over Stephen Karp’s plans (in particular chain stores) and to take a wait-and-see stance, I just couldn’t be so patient. So I did a little more research and this is what I found out.

The style of development Mr. Karp champions is called “lifestyle centers.” In an article published in the Boston Business Journal titled “Karp talks retail development, little about Fan Pier.” (October 29, 2004) I learned that retail development, as we’ve known it, is no longer a massive complex on a large track of land accessible only by car. The new design is aimed at developing retail “hot spots,” that look like urban open-air cityscapes and they’re popping up all over the place. The article lists several Karp projects and which market the “hot spots” are geared to.

“…Places such as Plymouth, where Karp is nearing completion on the first phase of a 500,000-square-foot center, and Leominster, where he has proposed a 475,000-square-foot retail center, are being transformed into retail ‘hot spots.’

While lifestyle centers won’t replace regional malls — the developments are an alternative, said Karp — there are few new malls being built these days for lack of available land.

Enclosed malls have high operating costs and need to be built big enough to accommodate two department stores to cover costs.

Lifestyle centers, which Karp said are easier to build, offer the same amenities as malls but are geared toward people with high incomes.”

After reading the article I began to think how naive all of us are. Our downtown is, for all intent and purposes, owned by one retail developer whose primary objective is to create a “lifestyle center” that serves the affluent. The parking issue on the Waterfront?- it is my belief that it is not going to end in anything that will serve the current residents of Newburyport. The likelihood of a senior center being built anywhere downtown? It is my belief that it is not going to happen.

Look what’s happening in Nantucket. There are numerous articles written by the “Nantucket Independent” that document the painful demise of a community and the building of a commercial empire. Take this for example from an article dated January 4, 2006.

“Yesterday, the Fee family announced that it will not reopen its downtown business following 37 years on Steamboat Wharf. In another blow, the Nantucket Cookie Company, owned by Andrew and Donna Fee and run from the Henry’s kitchen, is now for sale for lack of a new location.”

Another short article dated February 1, 2006 reports the closing of a thirty-one year old art gallery. The closing scenario went like this:

The Spectrum leased the building for 31 years. After Karp purchased multiple Nantucket commercial locations last year, Spectrum co-owner Bud Heidebur was approached by Wyner (Henry Wyner, leasing agent for Karp’s Nantucket Island Resorts company) who explained that another party was interested in paying a significantly higher rent than the Spectrum was being charged.

Heidebur and his partners decided they could not afford to spend that much and closed the local store after its lease ended at the first of the year.

How many scenarios like these are being played out right now in Newburyport? My guess would be many.

So now I know – no surprises. It looks like there could be parking on the Waterfront -ramrodded down our throats by the Mayor and the people who will benefit the most from more commercial space. It looks like there could be larger upscale and chain stores where there are modest sole proprietor shops. And it looks like there could be a pseudo downtown that’s more like a outdoor mall than a community center that serves its city residents.

Allyson Lawless
Newburyport