Was forced to come here last night for the "grand" opening with friends. Over all it's surprisingly bigger then I (and several others) imagined back when it was all boarded up. Conceptually wise, the area is nice (so far, but give it time and it'll be covered in trash and gum stains..). I visited the lobby of the 18-house theater (Iron man was sold out, just as I predicted it would..). The array of stores is a bit random, all of them trying to be perceived as nicer then they are (forever 21 aka xxi I'm looking at you...). Also, why is there a 3-story barns and noble here? There is a borders down the street and another huge barns two blocks from there...thou this barns' balcony provided our large group with a nice view of the fountain/water show.
Yes, this place looks like the Grove... its by the same group and I'm sure they intended it to be similar. Nothing wrong with that. s*%$, people give Cheesecake, etc good reviews and they all look the same to me.
Although I'm not a big fan of joints like this, it does offer the community a fun gathering place. I know that my niece and nephews would love this place since it's essentially a grown up version of Disney's Main Street while still retaining enough junk to keep kids happy - trolley, old school ice cream truck, playground, water features, etc.
One thing I did notice were that most of the people working there - security, employees arriving to work, etc.... seemed a bit too happy. Let's see what they look like after a month or so when the newness wears off.
