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So, short of some kind of miracle — we're not sure exactly what kind, but we're thinking maybe a midnight ghostly visit to Weingarten Realty CEO Drew Alexander, a la A Christmas Carol — the north section of the River Oaks Shopping Center will be coming down in the next few days, to be replaced with a new retail strip anchored by a Barnes & Noble megastore. And in case you've forgotten, B&N's moving into the new store means that the Alabama Theater Bookstop will close, which will pave the way for Weingarten to demolish that historic building, too.
We've heard a lot of people saying they're going to boycott all Weingarten properties in retaliation for the demolition, but there are a couple of things about that plan: First of all, as it's been pointed out in our comments section, that would directly affect the businesses that lease from Weingarten — not Weingarten itself. And second, to be frank, avoiding every Weingarten property could be pretty hard if you do any strip-center shopping at all. So what can you do, other than conjuring up Jacob Marley? Off the Kuff has an idea:
I know that what City Council did, though it was the best they could do, was basically nothing. And I figure one good basically meaningless gesture deserves another. As such, I've done the aughts-decade equivalent of starting a petition, which is to say I've created a Facebook group called I Will Not Shop At The West Gray Barnes & Noble, whose purpose is, I trust, self-explanatory. If you stand with me on this, especially if you live in or have a connection to the Houston area, I'd be much obliged if you'd join the group, and maybe let a few other people know about it, too. Who knows, maybe we'll get enough members to make them a little nervous. It's the least we can do.
What's the difference between boycotting all Weingarten properties and just the new West Gray Barnes & Noble? Well, it's kind of a fine distinction, but Barnes & Noble is a key player in this deal because the company is agreeing to vacate the Alabama Theater and become an anchor tenant in the replacement River Oaks center — which means the company is, to some extent, involved in the destruction of both structures. What's more, Houstonist has heard that B&N has been keeping close tabs on public sentiment regarding the move, so we're sure they would be interested in knowing that they're not making any friends in Houston.
So, if you think it's a worthwhile cause, check out Kuff's Facebook group. If you want to do big-box book shopping, Borders has better coupons anyway.
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One of the things Mayor White said at the meeting on Tuesday was that people need to show with their money that they support the River Oaks theater and the Alabama Bookstop. Action and not just words. (I can't remember his exact wording ....)
If people stop going to the theater altogether because they are boycotting Weingarten then they are just confirming for Weingarten that there is no reason to keep the theater or bookstore around.
That said I've joined the Facebook group because if they tear those places down I will NEVER shop at that Barnes & Noble.
Barnes & Noble should not be held accountable for Weingarten's behavior. You cannot expect them to make business decisions based on what their real estate company will or won't do.
Besides, say this boycott is successful, and the new store goes under. What then? The Book Stop will still be gone, and now all you have is a new section of the River Oaks Shopping Center with a gigantic hole in it. What will there be to celebrate then?
I was hoping for this new B&N to land in the Houston Pavilions downtown; they are a tenant in the Denver Pavilions that is run by the same firm. The fact that they are not moving there tells me that B&N has some kind of contractual obligation to Weingarten. Mind you that is my assumption based on the available information. In any case, I cannot think you can rationally ask this company to limit their investment in Houston because they lease from a money grubbing, historically impotent real estate firm.
Well, we all know it isn't realistic to imagine that a boycott will force the Bookstop/Barnes & Noble out of business.
Given that, B&N does have a choice in the matter. They're one of Weingarten's biggest tenants nationwide, so I imagine that if B&N said they were committed to the Alabama Theater and wanted to stay there, Weingarten would listen. It would be foolish not to.
Considering that B&N signing on as an anchor tenant for the new River Oaks Shopping Center is integral to making the new center (and the demolition of the old one) work, and considering that B&N has stood behind its decision to restore and occupy historic buildings in other cities — but not Houston — I think it's fair to hold them at least partly culpable for what's happening.
Houston has an 11% retail vacancy rate, there's plenty of other retail spaces owned by other property companies to rent from.
Mayor White is wrong - higher sales for the River Oaks theater and the Bookstop wouldn't change the rental contracts they already have with Weingarten. If anything, higher sales would just mean that Weingarten would raise their rents in the next lease negotiation, and lower the companies' profits.
And it's not so hard to boycott Weingarten, every store you normally go to has either another location in Houston close by, or has a web presence.
This issue is bigger than just punishing Weingarten for being a bad civic citizen, a Weingarten Boycott would put all Houston Developers on notice that even if you couldn't care less about pretty old buildings, that tearing down usable well-built real estate and rebuilding a bunch of cardboard and plate glass crap that won't last 20 years is not only environmentally unethical, in Houston's hot as hell climate, it's absolutely insane.
We should demand city wide Green Building standards. We should be ahead of the Californians and the Chicagoans on this issue, because God knows, global warming is going to come up and knock us on our asses.