Juggling in Sanlitun Village...
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Many people I know had doubts Sanlitun Village would succeed in Beijing, but the spot has done well. Many restaurants on the third floor – from Blue Frog to Union to Herbal Cafe - have drawn more patrons than the cynics expected and overall foot traffic is substantial. Sanlitun Village has done well to go beyond being simply a shop and eat spot. Instead, during a given visit, you might find grafitti artists or dancers or product launches, not to mention dozens of children weaving in and out of the water fountains.
This is not to discount the negative sides of this project largely driven by the Swire Group. This includes long delays in finishing it and the ensuing disruption this caused (a case of the “village” hurting the neighborhood), poor due diligence (numerous places, including Element Fresh, Blue Frog, and Union, inherited leaky roofs), and the presence of drug dealers in the square and the occasional hooker in McDonald’s. There is also the likelihood that Sanlitun Village will drive increasing rent hikes on neighboring bars and retail shops, and thus the area might lose its current full flavor, given the visitor can currently skip between high-end meals and cheap drinks, fancy cocktails, and street food.
In any case, the “creative” and “media” efforts of both the Sanlitun Village as well as the northern section of the project, which is expected to open by year’s end, will by handled by Euro RSCG Beijing and MPG, according to this story on Brand Republic:
Swire Properties has awarded Euro RSCG Beijing, along with Havas sister media agency MPG, the creative and media duties respectively for the expansion of retail and hotel development The Village at Sanlitun after a pitch against several independent agencies. The win comes at a time of expansion, as the second of its two sites – the Village North – is to be opened later in 2009. The Village North will house an array of creative luxury brands.
See the full post here.
(Hat tip to DJ Chunky)
Boyce,
Do you think the Village will try and make a move in buying the lot in between the South and North parts of the mall (Bar Blu, Tongli, Luga’s and everything else in between)?
@ DeluxZilla,
Maybe, but no matter what happens, given the Village and the high-end retail / residential space coming online in Soho and other projects, rents are rising, and I suspect some redevelopment of the Tongli area won’t be too far behind.
Cheers, boyce