Put Down The Locally Owned Book Store

Boston Globe magazine ran an interesting piece Sunday detailing a potential clash of the titans in Nantucket.

Seems the "high-end homogenization" (to steal a phrase from Mary Eaton) of Nantucket by local noble Steve Karp has elicited a response from rest of the island's Summer elite, particuarly one Wendy Schmidt, wife of Google co-founder Eric Schmidt.

The debutante-do gooders have formed charitable trusts to help preserve some of the properties in businesses in town, including the locally owned bookstore that had been the genesis of the chain store ban instituted on the island. (I think it's the same store. I couldn't find the article that ran in the Daily News last December.)

It's an interesting dynamic. Essentially, the wealthy who have made their homes (or one of their homes) on island feel a sense of responsibility for driving up the cost of living on the island. Indirectly, they also could be held at least partly responsible for the downtown's tilt toward offering higher end (i.e. expensive) products that don't do the townies any good.

I applaud these people for accepting a level of responsibility and taking action. No doubt, some good will come from it. But the results clearly are mixed:

LAST YEAR, SCHMIDT MADE her first foray into downtown revitalization by purchasing the former Island Spirits lot on Washington Street, a piece of land near the waterfront, for $3.5 million. She offered it to the town, for $1 a season, to use as the site of a new hub for the Nantucket Regional Transportation Authority. (The town had asked voters to fund the purchase, but they refused in a September 2007 special election.) It is a project that, she says, plays into her desire to get people out of cars and into environmentally friendly public transportation and ease the congestion that is making downtown increasingly inaccessible.

As some people quoted in the article point out, can a well-heeled group of philanthropists really use their considerable means to maintain a sustainable, natural existence for the rest of their town. Or do their very efforts make the job of preserving the downtown even more difficult because locals come to expect help from their richer neighbors?

Interesting questions. Worth a read.

Nantucket North--Post Game

So class let's thanks Stephen Tait for enlightening us about Karp's impact on Nantucket. Seriously, I thought the series had a strong finish.

I was particularly heartened to read that there are downtown merchants who recognize a chain store or two could add to the downtown. I sometimes think ordinances like the ones proposed underestimate the ability of our local merchants to compete against the big guys. These are smart folks who know what they're doing.

Anyway, back to the series. Interesting details on the Beinecke-Karp-Lagasse connection. Kudos again to Stephen for finding the right people to interview, like Ann Oliver, Beinecke's daughter. It added a lot to the story to have someone speaking on the late man's behalf.

So what did we learn? I'll offer some thoughts below. Feel free to add more on the comments.

Nantucketers are a rather arrogant folk. But I suppose people might think the same of us.

The Developer you know is always better than the Developer you don't know.

Karp's undertakings on the island and in Newburyport are very different.

His work on the islands seems to involve rehabbing (or destroying) older properties. Newburyport presents a very different scenario. His projects on Waterside West and, eventually, East will significantly alter the face of the downtown.

The longer I live here the more I realize just how big our downtown really is. Toss up some retail and hotel near the Route 1 bridge and he might spin the downtown off its Market Square axis. This is a big deal that goes beyond rents and hand-written signs in windows.

I'm not sure the chain store ban made a bit of difference in Nantucket. Just as I'm not sure it really would make a huge difference to Newburyport. More on this later.

I'm glad we have the Park Lunch and the Barking Dog.

I'm really thankful I don't live on an island. I think I'd go nuts.

Well, I'm stuck right now. Please join in.

Buy Local-Nantucket Style

A word from a buy local advocate in Nantucket. The K-man is featured prominently.

Sorry for the short posts. Busy work week.

A Growing Empire?

The Daily News has a story today about Chuck and Ann Lagasse's purchase of Fisherman's Wharf in Provincetown, but they're a little too slow in getting the article up on their Web site so check out the news in the Provincetown Banner.

I'll update with the News link later on. I've got no real insights on this at this point other than I was surprised by the news.

Makes you wonder though if City officials from Provincetown, Nantucket and Newburyport ought to meet somewhere in the middle (maybe a cafe in the new Pinehills Village in Plymouth) to compare notes. It would appear they're all facing similar, albeit not identical, issues.

We interrupt this election...

for our regularly scheduled Karp carping.

Found some news on Steve Karp, aka Downtown Newburyport's Largest Landowner, all hailing from Newburyport South, aka Nantucket. Some of this might be comforting, but the rest will probably concern.

All these articles ran in the Nantucket Inquirer & Mirror.

This first piece covers the comings and goings in the retail district, which shop has opened, which has closed. Frankly, the Daily News has run a ton of these (and I've written a few) over the years so nothing too drastic.

There is one complaint about an eviction, but those things do happen. Don't know the details.

It is worth noting that many of the new businesses mentioned in the article are locally owned.

The second one, however, is a bit troubling. Apparently, Karp's Nantucket Island Resorts gave a rather swift kick to a store called Stephen Swift Furnituremaker, telling them their lease would not be renewed when it expires on Jan 1.

I don't know what industry standards are, but it seems a bit much to kick someone out with less than two months notice.

Warning: This is a one-side-of-the-story article, but here it is.

“I have no place to go at this point and I’m frantically looking for another place to move,” Swift said. “I expected they’d be looking for more rent, but I didn’t expect they would tell me to leave without an option to pay more, or to move to another location.”

Phone calls to both Karp and NIR leasing agent Henry Wyner were not returned.

Swift said she was told the space was not going to be used for a retail operation, and that NIR simply had “different designs” for the 34 Main Street building. Representatives of the two other tenants in the building, clothing store Vis a Vis and the Robert Wilson Galleries, declined to comment for this story. It was unclear whether those leases would also not be renewed. Swift said NIR representatives advised her to look into relocating to Amelia Drive.

“With the type of business I have, I would be really hard-pressed to stay in business out on Amelia Drive,” Swift said.

The company’s namesake and Swift’s husband, master craftsman Stephen Swift, died several years ago, but the showroom continues to feature his designs. All of the company’s custom-made furniture is produced in a workshop owned by Swift in Killingly, Conn., where she employs seven people. On Nantucket, Swift has two employees, and the 34 Main St. location is the company’s only showroom. Before moving to Main Street, the showroom was located on Centre Street for 15 years. The company has been in business on Nantucket for more than three decades.

While Swift said she does some business through her website, stephenswiftfurnituremaker.com, and through catalog sales, she said 99.9 percent of her business comes from the Main Street showroom.

Some other downtown NIR tenants said they were surprised to hear that Swift’s lease would not be renewed, while a number declined to comment on the matter.

“They’ve been there a long time and if all of a sudden they were ousted, I would feel bad for them,” said Weeds owner George Davis, who is waiting to hear about the status of his lease with NIR. “That would be bad on Karp’s part. Every day we come in and there’s another rumor (about NIR leases).”

John Harding, the owner of the Fragrance Bar on Centre Street, was also surprised to hear about Swift’s lease.

“This shocks me,” said Harding, who has two years left on his lease with NIR. “It’s unbelievable. The word was that this guy (Karp) was such a nice guy and that he valued how unique downtown Nantucket is.”

If Nantucket shopowners find that a bit unsettling, then this news will tip them right over. Steve Karp is buying even more of the island's downtown.

I'll include this bit of the article because the web site is slow, but do check out the entire article when you have time.

Steve Karp is one step away from increasing his Nantucket holdings yet again, agreeing this week to buy 21 downtown storefronts, offices and apartments from Winthrop Financial Associates.

Neither side was willing to disclose the price of the deal, which Karp confirmed yesterday but must still be approved by Winthrop’s 677 limited partners.

In June, Karp, principal owner of Nantucket Island Resorts and chief executive officer of New England Development, bought 94 storefronts, offices and apartments – including Old South Wharf and Straight Wharf – from Winthrop for $55 million.

Included in the latest deal is the bulk of Winthrop’s remaining properties on the island, including the buildings that house The Atlantic Cafe, 21 Federal and Sushi by Yoshi restaurants, and The Spectrum, Camera Shop and Wayne Pratt Antiques on Main Street.

Not included in the proposed sale are the Grand Union supermarket and adjacent fuel tank farm near the Nantucket Boat Basin, and several other of Winthrop’s island properties in the same area.

“We’ve agreed to a price and sent out a notice to their limited partners,” Karp said. “We had a right of first refusal on the first portfolio. On this one, we didn’t have that right, and there were other offers. Winthrop has accepted our offer.”

Karp said the properties included in the most recent deal fit in well with his current holdings.

“These properties are very complementary. It’s all quality real estate. There’s a lot of terrific real estate in there. The properties are in really good shape,” he said.

Winthrop’s limited partners – who approved Karp’s last purchase with no publicized opposition – have 30 days to approve the latest deal.

I don’t anticipate anything different,” Karp said yesterday.

I'm not sure what the takeaway is. The first article on the Storefront Shuffle doesn't seem out of the ordinary.

The article on the furniture store closing is troubling, but we may not know the entire story.

The final piece leaves me wondering excactly how much bandwidth Karp's team really has. We keep waiting for someone to come down from the mountain top carrying stone-carved plans for Waterside East and Waterside West etched in each arm. But is Karp's bench deep enough to manage his projects in Nantucket, Plymouth and Newburyport? Who knows.

I also wonder what impact the sagging economy will have on Karp's plans. Clearly, this is a good time to buy property. But is now the time to develop it? The residential market is getting softer and softer. The financing market is in turmoil. I'm not sure how solid the "high-end" consumer market might be.

I'd love to hear from some folks who know development more intimately than me. Comment anonymously if you'd like.

But I'm beginning to wonder whether we may have to sit tight for a while.

Karp on Karp

Found an interesting little interview Steve Karp gave to Plum TV, a local television show in Nantucket. It ran last month.

The interview centered on Karp's control of Nantucket. The host was no Mike Wallace, but she affably asked Karp about the concerns people have over his ownership of a big stake of the island's downtown. (I'm afraid I don't know the percentage.)

Honestly, she did a decent enough job. And Karp comes off as a very likable and local (by that I mean Boston) fellow.

If I had the technical talent, I'd voice over "NEWBURYPORT" every time Karp or the host said Nantucket because that is how it played in my head. This is EXACTLY the kind of discussion Karp needs to have in Newburyport and once again I offer this blog as his entry into the market. (I have a cell phone WITH video capabilities. We can make this happen.)

Anyway, give a watch. The few interesting elements I jotted notes about:

Early on he talks about how he has honored the style and substance of Nantucket's downtown. He mentions the island does have bylaws dictacting exterior designs, but he suggests any good developer wouldn't stray too far. (My two cents: He sounds genuine, but the more restrictions, the better.)

4:51-He talks about Nantucket having to give the customers want they want. He's specifically talking about the "residence hotels" they opened up on the island to cater to those people who had fled the island for more desirable locales. (2 cents: I'm guessing this is what he has in mind for Waterfront West?)

I need to give this another listen, but he mentions something about a chateau that is drawing European visitors. I'm guessing he is referring to this. I'll update if I have time to listen again.

8:10-He talks a bit about Walter Beinecke's impact on Nantucket. He also credits Beinecke for leading him to Newburyport, which he says shares similarities with Nantucket but isn't quite the same.

For more on the Beinecke-Port connection check out this Boston Magazine article from May 2006 includes a great quote from a former Daily News reporter (not me.)

9:16-The rumor mill is discussed. Surprise, suprise, people with little information are filling in the blanks with their own suggestions. Karp talks specifically about a rumor that he'd be bringing chains to Newbur---oops Nantucket's Main Street. He said it was never the case (and refers, I believe, to a chain-store restriction that was put into place. If someone could enlighten me on this I'd appreciate. I'm sure the Buy Local folks know all about it. Otherwise I'll find something for a future post.)

10:08ish-Karp says if anyone has any questions about what he's up to in Nantucket they should just ask him directly.

So I'm guessing that offers applies to Newburyport as well? So Mr. Karp, what's up? When might we hear the plans for the Watefront?

I'm adding these items to the Stuff About Karp list as well.