On Topic: Waiting for Westdale

People care about Westdale, they really, really do.

Not enough to have shopped at the old Westdale Mall, mind you, or it wouldn't have fallen on hard times. But many in Cedar Rapids seem to have high hopes for what might populate that vast, 72-acre plot of land bordered by Edgewood Road and Williams Boulevard SW on the city's southwest side.

Many observers — as they watch earthmovers gouge up yet more dirt, as if to uncover another surprise retail treasure — have concocted Jules Verne-like images of a Future Westdale sparkling with a Macy's, Nordstrom or Dillard's, and maybe topped off with a Cheesecake Factory. Oooo, something new …

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My fear, however, is they might be disappointed.

Revitalizing Westdale in this day and age always was going to be tough. Retail as an industry worldwide is slogging through difficult times, and lots of famous names are scaling back, not opening new — and especially not expansive — locations.

For another thing, shopping malls themselves have evolved, if that's the right word, dramatically:

— At first there were strip malls — They were designed so that shoppers, in a post-World War II America when automobiles began remaking our landscape, could pull up outside the precise store they wanted to visit. In and out, no dillydallying.

— Then came enclosed malls — Shoppers could stroll in a weatherproof environment, at a time when 'shopping' started to be considered less about actually purchasing stuff and more as entertainment and/or a social function — over time, as a gathering place for 12-year-old girls mostly — and as a daily walking route for retirees.

Retailers cottoned to this notion, too, because if you dropped in to buy a sweater from a big anchor store or to watch a movie, say, you might be tempted to pause to pick up the latest best-seller from the storefront bookstore a few doors down, too, or possibly do some banking.

— But as online shopping convinced buyers they didn't need to actually touch merchandise before making a selection, commercial developers started experimenting. In some instances, they created shopping 'villages' with free-standing stores.

An early, successful example of this it-takes-a-village model is Easton Town Center in Columbus, which opened in 1999. But — and here's why I started off with a cautionary note — that Ohio venue provides spaces for an aerobic-challenging 180 stores that today include Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's, Coach New York and an Apple Store, among other 'destination' retailers and sit-down restaurants (that, hey, look, use actual tablecloths). There also is a nearby Hilton hotel (in case you need a nap after all that walking).

In 2013 Frew Development Group, in taking over the considerable, $90 million chore of remaking the Westdale site, talked about a 'vibrant …

lifestyle destination,' as The Gazette's Todd Dorman reminded us in his column just last month. And, yes, the Westdale website still proclaims 'a community showcase' for that turf.

Yet in Cedar Rapids, sorry, we simply might not possess the economic heft right now to entice those kinds of sparkly brands to set up shop. (See our Business 380 Sunday centerpiece story on this page.)

Westdale has signed up Burlington — an honorable businesses and absolutely no disrespect intended. But it's not usually mentioned with the same breathless anticipation as a Saks.

Also note: The new Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, the city's second and set to open at Westdale by late November, will be pretty much across the street from Culver's, which offers a similar-enough dine-in experience.

Where does this leave our aforementioned Westdale dreamers, with their hopes for a shiny new shopping paradise? Two thoughts: One is, have patience — there still is a sizable amount of land to be developed and leased there. It's early days.

The other is, if your heart's desire has yet to put up a banner at Westdale, you can continue to make that drive to Coralville for a while longer, right?

Wait, hang on a moment. No Macy's there, either. Sorry.

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Before I forget: Remember to make your reservation for this year's second Business 380 Excellence Business & Breakfast, set for this Thursday, May 19, at the Cedar Rapids Public Library. Our topic this time will be a little different, but just as vital: 'Be Your Own Box.'

Our panelists — Eric Engelmann of Geonetric, Lynn Manternach of MindFire Communications and Tim Guenther Clickstop — will discuss innovative approaches to doing business in today's changing environment. Networking and a light breakfast will begin at 7 a.m., with the panel and Q&A kicking off at 7:45.

Go to TheGazette.com/tickets or call (319) 398-8345.

And while we're at it: We've extended the deadline until May 31 for you to nominate your company or organization, or a company you've done business with, for this year's Business 380 Excellence Awards. You can do that at TheGazette.com/businessawards2016.

Even better, we'll hold our spiffy awards banquet once again at Kirkwood Hotel, on Sept. 8. The Iowa Women Lead Change's Tiffany O'Donnell will join me at the lectern as co-host for the evening.

So please, sign up now for all the above. A good time will be had by all.

Michael Chevy Castranova is enterprise and Sunday business editor of The Gazette. (319) 398-5873; michaelchevy.castranova@thegazette.com