Spirits Rising?

Why are we discussing patio culture on a snowy day like today (we look at our new Taylor Made irons sitting behind the family room couch and start to weep)? Because spring is coming, and the Distillery District is ready. Bisnow caught up with Cityscape Developments’ principal Mathew Rosenblatt about new happenings in the 150-year-old entertainment precinct. Cityscape, partnered with Dundee Realty, has been stewarding a rebirth of the century-old area in the eastside since buying it up in 2001.

Galleries, theatre, fashion and coffee shops are complemented by an ever-expanding selection of restaurant and brew pubs, and a burgeoning selection of outdoor patios. The new addition is the French restaurant, La Creperie, near the relatively new El Catrin Mexican restaurant and the 10k SF Mill St Brew pub. Ample seating, no noise, or smog or fumes from local traffic, combined with 19th-century architecture—Mathew says the challenge in terms of development comes down to continuing to find better partners and better tenants while not going too far one way or another.

But it’s the bustling patio scene that is really starting to mark the area—timed nicely with the rise of residential communities like Canary District, where athletes from the Pan Am Games will be housed. After the Games are finished, the residential units will be sold. “They are capitalizing on what we are doing over here,” Mathew is quick to point out, not the other way around. One advantage Cityscape and Dundee Realty had comes down to sole ownership of the area, as opposed to different individuals and companies owning different pockets. (Better than too many cooks in the kitchen, or too many chairs on the patio.)