More retailers coming to Sixth and Lamar
Anthropologie joins stores that will replace existing Whole Foods
Source: Austin American Statesman
R. Michelle Breyer

The Anthropologie apparel and home decor store and Teo, an Austin Italian ice cream shop, are joining the list of tenants that will occupy the Whole Foods Market Inc. site as part of a major redevelopment at the northeast corner of West Sixth Street and North Lamar Boulevard.

They will join outdoor equipment retailer Recreational Equipment Inc., which plans to open its second Austin store in the fall of 2005 in the center, which will be called Sixth & Lamar.

Whole Foods is building a new headquarters and store across the street. Once the company moves, Schlosser Development Corp. will turn the existing store into a shopping and entertainment complex.

With additional construction on Lamar, the site will have almost 200,000 square feet of space, about twice the size of the current Whole Foods store.

That means room for about 20 stores, restaurants and other businesses and additional parking to accommodate a total of 700 cars.

Anthropologie Inc., whose Austin store will be as large as 14,000 square feet, is a subsidiary of Urban Outfitters Inc. The retailer sells clothing and home decor items, targeting women in their 30s and 40s.

"The concept has been designed to take the Urban Outfitters customer to the next stage of their life," said Wade McDevitt, president of McDevitt Co., which handles leases for Urban Outfitters. "It's a lifestyle store designed to create a pleasing and inviting environment."

McDevitt said the average shopping stay at an Anthropologie store is 35 to 40 minutes, long by retail standards.

"That really tells you something about the environment we've created," he said. "It invites you to stay, to linger, to graze."

Anthropologie has 48 stores, including in Dallas and Houston. McDevitt said Anthropologie officials have been eyeing Austin for five years.

"Our customers are well-traveled, well-read, sophisticated individuals," he said. "Austin not only has the appropriate population to support a store, but the appropriate sensibility and psychographic."

For Teo, formerly known as Babbo's, its new store at Sixth & Lamar will be its second in Austin. In addition to coffee and gelato, the store will sell Italian goods, including candy, specialty foods and toys.

"I want to be there because I think it will be the epicenter of Austin," said owner Matthew Lee, whose original store is on West 38th Street.

REI plans to open a 22,500-square-foot, two-story store at Sixth & Lamar, and Schlosser officials say other tenants are close to finalizing deals. BookPeople will remain an anchor of the development.

Interest in the project has heated up over the past year with the development of high-end residential properties nearby and the construction of Whole Foods' new store and headquarters. Whole Foods is considered a prime anchor for many upscale retailers and restaurants.

Schlosser also is considering what to do with property on the southwest corner of Fifth Street and Lamar and the block to the east of the new Whole Foods headquarters. Company officials said there has been strong interest in those tracts from retail, hotel and residential developers.

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