Facelifts becoming common area retail upgrades

Aesthetics play bigger part of building design

By DARRELL L. BREESE
Alaska Star

With Botox, collagen injections and laser skin treatments being popular in maintaining and preserving personal beauty, it should be no surprise that local businesses are investing in facelifts for their stores and offices.

The most notable among them are Carrs and Wal-Mart. Both retail giants are in the midst of major remodeling projects, which include exteriors that are a little easier on the eyes.

But they are not alone. Aesthetics have become just as important as a building's functionality with new construction projects. The curved exterior wall of the new Providence Alaska medical building facing North Eagle River Access Road is evidence to that fact.

The former wood faade of the Carrs Quality Center in Eagle River has been replaced as part of the store's "Lifestyles" changes. Star Photo By DARRELL L. BREESE

The Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce welcomes the change.

“It's just wonderful,” said Susie Gorski, executive director of the chamber. “It gives the buildings a little character and takes away from the institutional look of the traditional big building.”

Gorski added that residents indicated they wanted the aesthetic improvements in a recent chamber survey.

“People expressed a desire to have a charming and hometown feel to the business district,” Gorski said. “And the businesses are responding.”

Glenn Peterson, district manager for the Anchorage area Carrs-Safeway stores, said the redesign of the Eagle River store is not a response to a local survey, but a sweeping change in the industry.

“For us, the remodel is part of a nationwide change to what the company calls its Lifestyle' format,” he said. “It's a concept which began as a way to distinguish the company from competitors while appealing to customers.”

According to Peterson, the idea behind “Lifestyle” is to update the design and fixtures of the store.

“Giving it a more contemporary look with cleaner lines and stone entries,” he said. “The facelift also extends inside the store with the addition of softer lighting, modern flooring, wainscoted walls and warmer tones.”

Changes to the Eagle River store are part of a program to remodel each of the Alaska stores, Peterson said, and virtually all of the 1,800 stores in the Safeway chain.

According to Gorski, the more designed facades are part of a national trend.

“A lot of thinking is going on in the business community on how to attract more customers,” she said. “Fresh, contemporary designs appeal to the consumer and will get them away from the Internet where they can shop by hitting send.”

A new contemporary design, featuring stonework and decorative lighting sconces welcomes customers to the Carrs Eagle River store. The store is completing a redesign, which updated both the inside and exterior in an attempt to make the shopping experience more satisfying. Star Photo By DARRELL L. BREESE

“We wanted to make sure our new building didn't look like a big box,” said Kim Scott, regional marketing manager for Wal-Mart. “Blending the character of new Wal-Marts with the nearby area is a current strategy of the chain, a departure from a time when all the stores were blue and gray brick buildings.”

Scott said that in keeping with the neighborhood environment, Wal-Mart put the front of the “Oldtown” store on the Eagle River location and designed a building that is attractive from all sides.

“We work very hard with the city leadership, city staff and community groups to make sure that we are reflecting the surrounding architecture and environment,” Scott said.

Others who have, or who are incorporating more architectural details in building designs, include Credit Union 1, which opened its Business Boulevard branch in 2005 with the goal of blending in with the surroundings.

“We set out with two goals when we built the new building,” said Leslie Ellis, Credit Union 1 President and CEO. “First, we wanted to create a more modern presence. We'd been in the same spot for over 20 years before we built the new building. The second reason was to situate the building and design it in such a way to take advantage of the views.”

In addition to the contemporary architecture, Ellis said an emphasis was also placed on landscaping to make the building fit with the overall look and feel of the community.

Credit Union 1s building on Business Boulevard incorporated design elements and practical function to maximize the views and aesthetics of the Eagle River Branch. Star Photo By DARRELL L. BREESE

All the design touches being added to new construction is exciting to Gorski, but she said small local businesses might be slow to keep pace.

“It takes a lot of capital to make the upgrades, and the big multinational and statewide corporations have that money available,” she said. “But some of the small businesses don't have the resources necessary to make the changes, even though they might want to.”

Reach the reporter at darrell.breese@alaskastar.com.

This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, December 27, 2007.