Bryn West came to Spokane in 2008 to take a job as assistant marketing director for River Park Square LLC, the retail shopping center at 808 W. Main in Spokane’s downtown core. Since then, she’s risen through the ranks to become vice president of River Park Square, while watching Spokane’s downtown evolve into a more vibrant center of commerce. 

From her office at River Park Square’s headquarters, sandwiched between PF Chang’s restaurant and the Free People retail store, West oversees River Park Square’s legion of leasable spaces and guides the company’s growth. The Journal caught up with West to discuss the retail industry, how River Park Square stays afloat, and the changing face of downtown Spokane. 

Journal: Over the past 12 years, how have you seen River Park Square change?

West: We’ve realized over time that as the internet has progressed, we needed to stay relevant, so we’ve been looking at different retailers that offer more of an experience, rather than just facilitating buying. 

You can go into Sephora, for example, and you can take classes on how to do a smokey eye look or on the best skincare tips for the winter. I can actually go learn something, and it’s more than just a transaction. Those are the retailers that are going to make it. 

That’s why I think we do so well at River Park Square. It’s not just a place to buy things; it’s a place to be. We encourage families to come down and experience Mobius or the food court or Kid’s Club on Saturdays. We want you to come and enjoy Christmas and enjoy the tree and Santa. There are more here than just transactions.

To what do you attribute River Park Square’s success relative to other retail centers?

Part of it is our location. We are lucky to be located in an urban hub. There’s so much more offered in downtown now, especially with the Lime scooters. You can get back to Kendall Yards or the U District, and it’s all really connected. We’re finding that being centrally located is better than being out in the suburbs where you have to drive to those locations. If you’re coming downtown, there are so many different things you can do, and you can park your car here and not worry about it for the rest of the day.

What’s the ratio of unoccupied versus occupied spaces?

We have two vacancies. We’re about 97% leased (not counting The M). We’ve also had some big renewals recently: Nordstrom, Apple, Gap, Banana Republic. They’re signing up, and they’re staying, which feels really good.

What downtown actually belongs to River Park Square?

We’ve got River Park Square, and then we’ve got River Park Square South, which is this building with Anthropologie, Free People, Lush, P.F. Chang’s, and MÜV Fitness. Then you’ve got River Park Square East, which is The M building — that’s got the residential, Nike, Flatstick Pub, and then we also have Stay Alfred on two of the floors.

What trends in the industry have you been noticing?

One of the biggest ones is how recycling or upcycling is starting to take hold. I just read this article about how Nordstrom in New York City is now offering a used clothing section. They’re offering secondhand clothes in this little boutique shop within a shop in Nordstrom in downtown New York. That has become a big trend with the millennial generation. We’re even seeing retailers physically recycle the clothes, so now some of the fabrics are actually recycled fabrics.

The other big one is the experience piece. We’re seeing a lot of retailers that get it. You can’t just open up for business and expect to thrive, or even survive at this point. You have to have something else to get people in the door. For example, Lush, which just opened, has four different sinks in their store because they want you to try the product or make your own bath bomb, to get messy and enjoy the product before you buy it. It’s that kind of thing that will keep them healthy as a retailer.

Have you seen other centers focusing on more experiential aspects?

We have. I know Northtown is trying to tackle that. The benefit that we have is that we are locally owned, so we’re a little more nimble, and we have the availability to host things like BrrrZaar in December. We can do things like that and make quick decisions. We employ a marketing director and an assistant marketing director, because we really believe in having events and making that an experience to be here, not just a transaction.

Have you noticed an inclination toward working more with local retailers?

At River Park Square, we believe in a blend of both. We think the national retailers offer a good base. If I need Nike socks, I know where to go. But then we love having the local retailers to add texture to the fabric. Something more interesting that maybe a national retailer wouldn’t produce, so maybe something more artistic or locally sourced or something that’s actually about Spokane. We make sure when we’re leasing space that we try to keep a good ratio of national to local, because we believe that local is where great experiences happen. The secret is a blend of both.

Are you seeing other centers doing anything like that?

I think it’s harder for the big nationally owned centers. They try to have local leasing people, but the larger you are, the more red tape there is.

In the last 12 years, how have you seen this part of downtown change, and what has that meant for River Park Square? 

We’re definitely seeing an infill. There were a few more vacancies than what you see now, and I think the explosion of Kendall Yards has also been amazing to watch. In order for a downtown environment to be healthy, you need that density of housing. Having apartments and more students living downtown, and more young professionals who are interested in going out or staying in the urban core after 5 o’clock really makes a difference for our retail center, restaurants, bars, and nightlife. There’s definitely been more of that since when I first moved here.

I also think the redevelopment of Riverfront Park is also going to have a huge positive impact for downtown.

Are you starting to see the effects of the Riverfront Park redevelopment?

We are. We definitely noticed it when it was down. Our traffic has slipped a little in the past couple of years, because there wasn’t as much for a destination. I think the redevelopment is going to be huge for us.

The next one is going to be the Sportsplex. We are so excited, because when that gets done, that’s adding density to the downtown area, which will then have a ripple effect across the community.

In general, what’s the greatest challenge that the retail industry is facing these days, especially shopping centers like River Park Square?

The greatest challenge is the fact that time is now a commodity. We’re seeing it come down to internet shopping — so I can be in my pajamas at night on my computer or on my phone or tablet, and order something that shows up in a few days. That’s definitely a challenge, because it seems that people are trying to do more, but we still have the same amount of time.

What’s lucky about that is it’s making people very purposeful about gathering together, eating out or meeting up to go ice skating or to go to a concert in the park. People are trying to be more intentional about that because they realize that time is a commodity, and you only get so much of it. I think the challenge would be to make sure that we stay relevant as a place where you want to spend your time.

What challenges does River Park Square face?

Being in a downtown environment can have its challenges. We feel the impact of homelessness. We’re feeling some of the regulation that’s coming from Seattle, such as having a minimum wage at the rate that it is. We’ve got the challenge of staying relevant for the customer, but also, from a legislative standpoint, making sure that laws aren’t passed that make it harder to do business.

How do you see River Park Square evolving in the coming years?

We’re usually not first to market. We usually like to look to see if something is working in other places or what someone else is doing to try to make it work, because I think there are a lot of good lessons to be learned that way. It became trendy to have electric car chargers, so we waited to see if that was working, if there was really a demand. Yes, in fact, it was, so now we have several banks in the garage. It’s about making sure that we’re staying up on trends and making sure that we can accommodate what our customers are looking for.

Right now, 30% of our customers are from out of town. It’ll be interesting to see the impact of something like the Sportsplex, because that’ll create more visitors from out of town. We expect that percentage to grow. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of businesses those people are attracted to. People visiting from out of town are usually hungry, and like good, interesting food, not just run-of-the-mill basic food, so I think that’s an opportunity for great local food to shine. The No. 1 thing you usually do while you’re out of town is shop, if you’re traveling for pleasure. 

We need to make sure that we’ve got a great lineup of retailers that are interesting — we’re seeing a lot of college-age and high school trips that are probably going to get spawned from the Sportsplex. So Lush and Urban Outfitters and Free People will all be hot stops on their itinerary.

River Park Square is owned by the Cowles Co., which also owns the Journal of Business.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.