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Newport on Levee announces Trade, opening this summer in the reimagined Gallery Building


North American Properties (NAP), the local real estate firm behind the redevelopment of mixed-use destination Newport on the Levee, announces the vision for Trade™, the latest signature experience coming to the development.

Opening this summer in the reimagined Gallery Building, Trade™ will be a permanent, revolving retail market at the Levee featuring up to 12 concepts from local vendors. In addition to Trade™, four local businesses will open storefronts at the Gallery Building after testing their concepts at Bridgeview Box Park and The Exchange Market last year.

Trade

Trade™ will span 10,000 square feet on the ground floor of the Gallery Building at Newport on the Levee. NAP will curate Trade™ with a dynamic mix of boutique, local businesses seeking a flexible brick and mortar platform to bring their concepts to life. Individual vendor spaces within Trade™ will range from 100 square feet to over 1,000 square feet, and all walls and fixtures will be moveable, giving tenants room for future growth and NAP the ability to work with retailers of all sizes. Leases signed at Trade™ will be between three months and one year, creating an always fresh retail experience for the community and lowering the barrier to entry for small businesses. 

“After the successful debut of creative retail concepts like The Exchange Market and Bridgeview Box Park, we are excited to introduce the community to Trade™, where we can continue to give local businesses a platform to grow alongside the transformation of the Levee,” said Adam Schwegman, partner and senior vice president of leasing at NAP.

“We’ve always envisioned the Gallery Building as the permanent space for this experience, and Trade™ will play a key role in bringing energy and vitality to the Levee.”

NAP has also signed long-term leases with four retailers and restaurants, all of which previously occupied space at the box park or The Exchange Market. Community favorites Little Spoon, Bon Mi Street, Colonel De’s Gourmet Herbs & Spices and Bluegrass and Sass will each open their own storefronts later this year.
 

The Gallery

“As a kid, I spent a lot of time at the Levee, and I never imagined that years later I would be opening my own business there,” says Courtney Augsback, owner of Little Spoon. “We were honored to be a part of Winter Wonder in 2019, and even more excited when we were asked back for the Bridgeview Box Park last summer. As Newport residents, we’ve been anxiously waiting to see the Levee brought back to life, and NAP has done just that. Trade™ and the reimagined Gallery Building are going to make the Levee better than ever, and we’re thrilled to have a permanent location where we can serve our community for years to come.”

Ongoing renovations to the Gallery Building include transforming the space into a weather-proof gathering locale for the community, so it can serve as a venue for events as well as a place to relax, get work done and spend time with friends and family. The new structure connecting the eastside of the building with the Purple People Bridge is now visible and will open to the public by May 1st, while the westside of the building has been replaced with a striking, all-glass wall to flood natural light into the space.

NAP also recently completed construction on the new 3rd Street parking garage entrance, which will significantly enhance the flow of traffic on property. Other redevelopment milestones include upgrades to the valet loop, fresh paint to the buildings’ exteriors, new signage and lighting, and enhancements to the Plaza. These upgrades are a vital component to improving connectivity and the pedestrian experience on property, as well as creating vibrant greenspaces for events and community gathering.

Ahead of the opening of Trade™, the community can still enjoy an incredible mix of local shopping at The Exchange Market. The upper level of The Exchange is being transformed into modern office space that comes as part of a larger NAP program called Flip the Switch, a flexible, furnished, wired, move-in ready solution crafted for companies looking for workspaces with short-term lease agreements. Later this year, The Exchange Market will be transformed into individual storefronts for several retailers, and the Bridgeview Box Park will remain open throughout the redevelopment.

Beginning this month, the community can experience the return of the Levee’s weekly events series, including trivia on Tuesdays in the box park and yoga classes on Fridays in The Exchange.

NAP’s COVID-response program, Better Together, continues to create a comfortable environment for the community to come together at the Levee. As part of the effort, NAP established a number of safety measures and made physical changes on property, such as the addition of artful hexagons on the ground of the Central Plaza to remind guests to keep a 6-foot distance. The full list of safety measures can be found here.


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