You'd be hard-pressed to find a more visible storefront location than 598 Main Street at the corner of Chippewa Street. The 4,043 sq.ft. ground floor has been vacant since the three-story was completed approximately one year ago. The space features floor-to-ceiling windows on both Main and Chippewa Street offering high visibility and both lobby and direct street access. National Life Insurance and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms occupy the office portion of the 28,000 sq.ft. building. The $3.5 million development, designed by MWT Architects, replaced what was once an under-used pocket park and in recent years a surface parking lot for the Comfort Suites hotel.
So why is retail important at this corner? It provides a link between Chippewa and the Theater District. Chippewa Street between Pearl and Main is a psychological barrier. Key Center does not have any retail along the street and the City Centre parking ramp is a two-story blank wall. Retail or a restaurant at 598, preferably with bold signage, will beacon to Chippewa visitors that there is life beyond Pearl Street. Root for retail or restaurant tenants soon, or we could be seeing the ground floor used for traditional office space.
CityView Properties, the developer, also constructed the City Centre condominium and office building next door. The two complexes share 100 on-site parking spaces. CityView has also spearheaded the renovation of the Root Building at 70 W. Chippewa and the mammoth Larkin at Exchange building.
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