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Developers are sidestepping cities and building in farm fields. Why?

A spate of developers building downtowns in Lehigh Valley farm fields has people asking: What's wrong with the old ones?

Over the past three years, builders have planned the new suburban shopping centers and projects with self-proclaimed ''downtown'' or ''Main Street'' ambience. Wide sidewalks, plenty of park benches, fountains and shade trees are among the design touches used to evoke old-school shopping districts.

''It's almost a slap in the face to the cities,'' said Jeff Pooley, an Allentown resident and assistant professor of media and communications at Muhlenberg College, who compares lifestyle centers to movie sets. ''I think the downtowns could easily host these stores.''

The developers say buying downtown buildings one by one takes too much time and money. They say every old building carries a risk of asbestos contamination or structural problems. And, of course, they cite limited parking, the longtime bane of downtown development.  

Then, there's the safety issue. Some detractors claim the builders do not want to tackle projects in urban downtowns, with their perceived safety risks. As a result, they lose what Pooley calls ''the organic, messy appeal of real cities.''

But the developers, some of whom do downtown work as well, say they are not trying to snub center cities. They say they build in the suburbs because that's where affluent and well-heeled professionals, who are their core customers, often choose to live. Independent retail observers say there's truth to that argument.

''From a business point of view, if my audience doesn't live downtown, what's the point of putting a store down there?'' asked James Ogden, a professor of marketing at Kutztown University.

Those arguments might frustrate Main Street supporters. But some Valley officials concede the builders make valid points. Rather than disparage them, local development leaders focus instead on courting builders who do want to work downtown.

''You can't castigate these retail developers for wanting to replicate what they feel is a successful formula,'' said Tony Hanna, Bethlehem's director of community and economic development . ''We just have to accept it, that this is essentially saying, 'You guys have something interesting, and we want to recreate it.' ''

The first of those projects, the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley, opened last fall in Upper Saucon Township. The center features a gazebo, old-style street lamps, music playing outdoors from concealed speakers, and high-end stores with brick facades lining landscaped sidewalks.

If that formula sounds familiar, that's because most of those sights and sounds are also found along Main Street in Bethlehem, the kind of charming shopping district that malls like the Promenade Shops unabashedly imitate. The builders of the new malls are shooting for the same success as downtown Bethlehem, a hot spot that bustles with tens of thousands of visitors each holiday season.

One difference is that the stores in downtown Bethlehem tend to be locally owned, while the majority of stores at the Promenade Shops are national chains.

Another ''suburban downtown'' aiming for the same vibe is The Summit Lehigh Valley, which combines mall, office and residential space. The Summit is planned to open next year in Bethlehem Township. Also, local builder Mark Wagner's Field of Dreams plan, which combines homes and shops with a downtown feel, is under consideration by Bethlehem Township officials.

A hot trend

The rise of the suburban downtown is a national development, fueled by the rising popularity of lifestyle centers: outdoor malls designed to resemble an old-fashioned Main Street.

Over the past 10 to 15 years, lifestyle centers have become the hottest concept in the retail world, according to industry watchers. Their high-end shops attract affluent buyers, while their open-air layouts contrast with traditional indoor malls.

The lifestyle center trend began in the suburbs of major cities such as Denver and Chicago. Once those markets filled up, builders such as Poag & McEwen Lifestyle Centers - the Memphis, Tenn., company that built the Promenade Shops - looked to smaller regions. The Valley's growing population and rising income levels drew developers' attention.

Some in the Valley welcomed the arrival of a different shopping setting and new stores. Others decried the builders' decisions not to invest in downtowns.

When the projects were proposed, Nazareth attorney Anne Felker wrote a letter to The Morning Call, one of several such letters posing the question : ''Why should we give up our precious open space to faux Main Street developments when the Lehigh Valley already has many real Main Streets? These retailers are welcome in any of our downtowns.''

Allentown resident Donna Reiss agrees. Reiss, who is in her 60s, grew up in the city at a time when young girls dreamed of modeling at Hess's, the beloved, now-defunct department store. She believes new stores would bring more people to the city and boost its revitalization.

''I don't understand why all these [developers] are creating 'downtowns' when there are plenty of downtowns that could use a few new upscale stores,'' she said.

The Promenade Shops, with its mostly upscale shops, meets the definition of a lifestyle center, as accepted by industry groups such as the International Council of Shopping Centers. The Summit may not meet that definition because some of its major stores, such as Best Buy and Target, are mass-market. Still, the project will also feature a Main Street-inspired look. Two builders, Bayer Properties of Alabama and Forest City Enterprises of Cleveland, plan to break ground in the spring.

Wagner's Field of Dreams is not being pitched as a high-end lifestyle center. Still, project plans call for a tree-lined commercial ''Main Street'' flanked by buildings with stores on the ground floor and apartments above.

Wagner, who has owned and redeveloped property in downtown Easton, believes townships are easier to work with than cities. He also cited parking and potential problems with existing buildings as reasons to build in the suburbs.

''Redevelopment has a whole different personality altogether,'' Wagner said. ''You deal with different environmental problems.''

Terry McEwen, president of Poag & McEwen, said the new downtowns recognize shifts in population. Some people prefer to live in cities, but the biggest growth is taking place in suburbs.

''We're taking things to where the people live, and making it more convenient for them,'' he said.

According to U.S. Census data, Allentown's population grew less than 1 percent between 2000 and 2005, while Bethlehem's population increased about 2 percent. In contrast, Upper Saucon's population increased 16.7 percent over the same period, while Bethlehem Township's population rose 11.3 percent. Other Valley suburbs, such as Forks and Lower Macungie townships, saw even stronger growth, and ranked among the fastest-growing municipalities in the Northeast.

McEwen said buying a large chunk of open land for a new mall is easier than assembling downtown properties piece by piece.

''To put a significant mass of the right retailers and restaurants together, you need to be able to control several blocks'' of property, he said. ''That's nearly impossible.''

Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, no fan of lifestyle centers, believes the Valley's remaining open space will continue to distract builders and shoppers from real downtowns. As long as space exists, developers will choose the easy path of new development over the more difficult task of reusing buildings.

A lifestyle center ''provides people the ability to feel like they're in a place, without ever having to roll up their sleeves and reinvent the place they originally had,'' he said.

Builders and outside experts say one other group of players - big national retailers - also affects the decision to build in the 'burbs.

The chains often have their own preferred store blueprints, and it's not always possible to accommodate their layouts in an existing building, McEwen said.

Also, higher-end chains like to cluster, said Denise Ogden, a retailing expert and assistant professor of business administration at Penn State Lehigh Valley. For instance, clothing chains J. Jill and Banana Republic can be found together in upscale malls from Hartford, Conn., to Birmingham, Ala., to Reno, Nev.

At a suburban mall, a single leasing agent or company decides what tenants suit the mix. In a downtown, no central authority controls the mix, which means a high-end store could end up across the street from a dollar store.

At a mall, ''there's a lot of strategic thought that goes into the ambience, the retail tenant mix and what kind of stores will go well,'' said Ogden, who is married to marketing professor James Ogden. ''That's the biggest difference.''

Downtown champions

The new batch of ''suburban downtowns'' does not mean existing Main Streets are being ignored. Valley officials cite local builders Lou Pektor and Peter Koehler, in particular, as champions of the region's downtowns.

Pektor has completed or proposed several major construction and renovation projects in the Bethlehem and Easton areas, including the mixed-use rebirth of Bethlehem's Farr Building and a new $17 million office building across the street. Koehler is best known for his conversion of the former Hotel Easton into condominiums.

Easton Mayor Phil Mitman said he does not even think about trying to lure suburban builders into his center city.

''I'm not going to spend my time talking with developers who do suburban development. I'm not interested in spending my time that way,'' Mitman said. ''We spend our time with those [developers] who spend their time developing downtowns.''

Barbara Kowitz, Easton's director of planning and development, said builders such as Pektor and Koehler have ''a different kind of vision'' than their suburban counterparts.

''They're saying, 'Look at the character. Look at the history. Look at the established community,' '' she said.

THREE NEW DOWNTOWNS:

Three suburban developments - one complete, two proposed - in the Lehigh Valley include Main Streets designed to look like old-time downtowns. 

• The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley
  Location: Stabler Corporate Center, Upper Saucon Township.
  Status: Opened in October.
  What it is: Outdoor mall with shops such as Brooks Brothers, L.L. Bean, J. Jill.
• The Summit Lehigh Valley
  Location: Freemansburg Avenue and Route 33, Bethlehem Township.
  Status: Groundbreaking planned this spring.
  What it is: Outdoor mall, restaurants, hundreds of homes and office space.
   
• Field of Dreams
  Location: Near Freemansburg. Avenue and Route 33, Bethlehem Township.
  Status: Under township review.
  What it is: Includes a shop-lined ''Main Street,'' 800 housing units, a 120-room hotel and office space.