FEATURE ARTICLE, FEBRUARY 2005

The Challenges of Urban Big Boxes
Architects are helping large retailers create opportunity where there is little space.
Navid Maqami, AIA

When big box retailers open new, suburban locations, it means designing a store in-line following the prototype, with parking in the front and loading docks in the back. But when retailers debut in urban areas, they must creatively shoehorn stores into densely populated areas. Large land tracts are unavailable. Companies must find an appropriate site either by assembling land parcels or squeezing into existing sites.

Retailers must also navigate a maze of building codes, zoning laws, traffic flow, parking, loading docks, signage and other factors. Research is imperative — designers of urban big boxes must perform thorough due diligence and site analysis to assess store logistics. The team must understand the area’s market trends, cultural influences, local shopping habits and entertainment practices.

Four New York City case studies are highlighted here. The projects were designed by Greenberg Farrow.

Mixed-Use Developments

The new Bloomberg building on 59th Street in Manhattan encompasses small retailers, office uses and residential condominiums. And Manhattan’s second Home Depot is located in the cellar. Squeezing Home Depot into this new, ultra-luxury tower presented an unprecedented urban challenge. At street level, designers worked within signage limitations allowing only 50 feet of frontage. Signage is critical to enticing patrons, so Greenberg Farrow collaborated with a set designer to create an urban theme.

Rendering of the Home Depot on 59th Street in Manhattan

The store, with a limited 100,000 square feet of space to work with, is set on three levels. The street-level entrance leads down to the showroom on the mezzanine level, which flows down another level to the main sales floor. Visual connections give the store a uniform theme and guide shoppers down to appropriate floors.

With Home Depot in the cellar, the layout had to be negotiated around the property’s labyrinth of systems cores. Designers needed to consider the services required to ensure smooth store operations. Ample space for a loading dock in an environment like Manhattan is scarce. At this Home Depot, it was non-existent. A large elevator that lowers delivery trucks to the cellar will serve as the loading/unloading impetus.

Designing big box retail in urban areas presents numerous challenges for architects and designers. But with careful due diligence and creative design solutions, these typically suburban retailers can squeeze exciting stores into urban locations that shoppers will want to return to again and again.

Large, Multi-Level Power Center

As with any big box project or shopping center in an urban area, parking is always an issue. At the forthcoming, 1 million-square-foot Bronx Terminal Market, the layout is intended to resemble that of a suburban center — stacked vertically. The center will include three buildings, with two retailers sandwiching a parking structure. A staggered vertical scheme allows each parking level to belong to a particular retail floor, with individualized parking in front of the store. Retail buildings are separated from the parking structure by two internal streets; providing visual connection between levels and access through the site.

Entering Smaller, Irregular Sites

River Plaza in the Bronx © Paul Rivera/archphoto

River Plaza, a 235,000-square-foot retail center housing 16 stores in three one- and two-story buildings, all with street-facing entrances, recently opened in the Bronx. This center is home to the Bronx’s first Target store.

The site was tight, irregularly shaped and bordered by major highways and a train line. There was little space for parking. To conserve space and meet zoning requirements, parking was located on the roof and the building was partially submerged below grade. This move facilitated placement of storefronts and small retailers on the street and preserved the vitality of urban life.

Signage is another key issue in urban retail development. Tenants of all sizes usually want signs that are as large as possible. To maintain the center’s design intent and comply with zoning regulations, the architects created a design and signage criteria, which was attached to tenant’s leases.

Urban Rehab or Expansion

Sometimes, big box stores or retail centers move into spaces requiring rehabilitation or expansion work. This was the case at Queens Place in Rego Park in Queens. An existing round building, originally intended for single use, was converted into a vertical shopping center accommodating multiple tenants.

The existing structure didn’t look like a retail building; color and signage panels were added to increase pedestrian visibility. With Target on the top floor, a red band around the circular top floor evokes the Target bull’s eye logo.

Inside, space was reconfigured to promote easy circulation and visual interest. To create a balance of open space and retail shops, visual obstructions were minimized by adding elements such as glass rails. Target’s trademark red theme starts at the base around the elevator and escalator, and guides shoppers to the top-level store.

Quality design helps attract tenants of all sizes. One obstacle urban designers confront is the issue of leasing space to smaller tenants. At Queens Place, the design team addressed this challenge by positioning smaller tenants in locations where shoppers must walk past their stores on the way to larger tenants. This ensures foot traffic and visibility for smaller retailers.

Navid Maqami, AIA, is principal and vice president of architecture with Greenberg Farrow.


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