The Gryphon | 22.7m | 6s | Mancal | LOLA

This place is surrounded by those Leonard developments which are full of non-chain businesses. This is natural market forces at work here; I'm not one that thinks a reasonable development should be stopped for virtuous reasons.

Sure, some things could be better about this (which I've stated in other posts here) but it also be much much worse.
 
It'll open with chains to start, but I expect to see local businesses fill in some of the space. Insignia, started out with chains when opening, but now has three local businesses. One of them, neighborhood favorite Tres Marias.
 
191 units so 250 to 300 people? All within 100m of existing retail with giant sidewalks and quality public realm. From that perspective it's a slam dunk.

Eventually when a popular area loses it's "new and shiny" vibe - they almost all do eventually - it's these 250 or 300 people that will frequent the shops and restaurants around here that keep the bills paid. Yes we lost a strip mall and a liquor store, but new units, and more importantly, a ton of residents directly in the retail area, is such a more resilient retail environment as a result.
 

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