In today’s omnichannel retail environment some business models are
simply outdated and no longer viable in any location. In historic city
centres, much of the retail space does not fulfil the needs of the
contemporary retail formats. Therefore, controlling for out-of-town
retail developments, investing on public transport and car parks are
not sufficient alone but must be accompanied by major attractions
appreciated both by local population and tourists. Although high street
performance still is largely judged on retail-based measures, their
main attractions are increasingly leisure and experience oriented. In
time of “hyper-modernity”, stores are places of entertainment and life
experiences and, hence, inseparable from other leisure spaces. Most
importantly, however, retail is supporting social uses, not the other
way round. The downturn development of many city centres is
materialized in empty shop units and escalating vacancy rates. As
multiple ownership is typical in city centres, any large-scale
development projects have been almost impossible to realize. Now the
record high vacancy rates, especially if concentrated in single blocks
or groups of buildings, urge actions to be taken. To seize the
opportunity the current crisis presents, radical rearrangements and
changes in business models are required. The current study presents a
case study from Turku, Finland, where a very centrally located but
malfunctioning shopping area is proposed being converted into a
unique combination of leisure and service uses targeted to families
with children and to senior citizens (55+). In addition to engaging
both children and their parents (and grandparents) in multitude of
recreational and educational activities, the project creates new types of
public space in the city centre and gives a boost to nearby retailers by
attracting visitors to the CBD. The viability of the concept is
investigated using extant academic literature and large scale consumer
surveys conducted in the area.