"Hello young ladies! Walk around here, girls. Don't be bashful," he says in a booming voice.

What might seem like excess is just the standard greeting Edberg offers his patrons at Landmark on East University Boulevard.

Since 1962, Edberg, 65, has owned the store on University Boulevard, long before stores like Urban Outfitters and the Gap were in existence.

However, it is rare for a business like Landmark to have remained open on University Boulevard for so long. Changing trends and the shifting economy have aided in the rise and fall of many businesses on the street.

The mix continues to change under the Marshall Foundation, the 72-year-old non-profit organization that donates about 50 percent of its profit to the University of Arizona and owns the majority of land on University Boulevard.

In order to uphold the foundation's vision, which is to keep business booming and donations flowing, the Marshall Foundation plans to revitalize University Boulevard in baby steps. Some business owners are enjoying the change, while others are met with uncertainty as to the future of their businesses - and University Boulevard as a whole.

Open for business

With a half-smile on his face, Edberg recalls a less hectic time on University Boulevard.

"I can remember standing here when you'd see a person every 10 minutes," he reminisces. "Now, you see one every 10 seconds."

Formerly Franklin's Men's Store, Landmark has been at the same location since 1962 when a then 20-something Edberg bought the house for his business.

Fifty years later, Landmark stands strong despite structural and economic changes to the area - all spawned from the vision of former UA professor Louise Foucar Marshall.

The foundation started when Marshall invested a small inheritance in property near the university in 1922. When Marshall died in 1956, her estate was handed over to the foundation and has continued to thrive ever since.

The organization now owns the land on University Boulevard between Park and Euclid avenues, with the exceptions of Chen's Cafˇ, Landmark, Frog & Firkin and No Anchovies.

"We looked at No Anchovies when it was for sale," says Charles Jackson, Marshall Foundation director. "The cost to bring it up to our standards didn't seem to fit in our business plan."

Today's Marshall Foundation, composed of a volunteer board of directors, is the current think-tank behind the organization. It works to maintain the integrity of Mrs. Marshall's original mission while making business choices for UA and the community.

"We have been told by the university to help attract good students and keep them," Jackson says. "I've worked with the university and talked with them to see what they would like."

Making sure the blend of businesses on University Boulevard is right for the community is just part of what the foundation is responsible for; the foundation also donates 5 percent of its net revenue each year to UA and other local charities.

"Students expect us to increase scholarship (donations)," Jackson says. "We can't increase scholarships unless we make more money. We're trying to continue to grow with the university and the community to provide what support we can."

In order to keep with this vision, Tom Warne, a consultant for the Marshall Foundation, says they have carefully handled the street's growth. Contrary to rumors that the Marshall Foundation is looking to make University Boulevard the next Mill Avenue (near Arizona State University in Tempe), Warne says they have looked at that area as a model of success, not a template for design.

"We tried not to mimic Tempe," he says. "We tried to do what was indigenous to Tucson."

Maintaining historical integrity

With its doors open since 1922, University Drug is literally the drug store around the corner.

Located at University and Park Avenue, the business is a staple in the university area.

"It's sort of an icon for the area," says Mike Ruckerson, the store's owner and pharmacist. "It becomes a meeting area for graduates when they come back into town. People call us to find out what's going on at the university."

Aside from University Drug, the Marshall Foundation has worked diligently to preserve the historical authenticity of the entire street, specifically in its official historic district between Tyndall and Euclid avenues.

In keeping with the street's original '20s-style architecture, the foundation works with the West University Historic Zone Advisory Board, a volunteer organization that maintains historical architecture in the university area.

"We're trying to ... make sure we don't recreate the same buildings so they don't detract from the historic buildings that are still there," says Val Little, the board's chairwoman.

With this thought in mind, Jackson says the foundation intends to restore the buildings to their original styles on the north side of the street between Tyndall and Park avenues.

However, construction could displace some businesses - if not close them down altogether. The next businesses in the way of construction would be University Drug and the family-owned Chinese restaurant 88 Express, 931 E. University Blvd. Although no demolition time has been set, Jackson says he has told Ruckerson at University Drug it could be anywhere from two to five years.

"We have no way of knowing," Jackson says. "We're staging it because we have got to give away that much money each year. If we don't have rents coming in, we can't throw out tenants and still give money (to the university)."

Warne says when the building is finally demolished, rent will inevitably be higher to offset the cost of a newly constructed building. Comparing current rents for businesses in the old building to rents in the new building is "not a fair comparison," he says.

"It is unrealistic with new buildings at today's prices," he says about keeping rent low. "It's hard to expect rents to be the same."

This air of uncertainty doesn't sit well with Ruckerson.

"I don't know about (our future) because I don't get a straight answer (from the foundation)," he says. "When I ask about the future of University Drug, I don't get a positive response."

Jackson says the foundation offered to relocate the store to other University locations. But the higher rent issue would not be alleviated.

"We have told (Ruckerson) we'd like him in the neighborhood. He's good for the area and attracts customers," Jackson says. "No, (Ruckerson) probably wouldn't afford rent in a new space."

Regardless of construction, general rent inflation will happen. Like other businesses in the area, the owners of Sinbad's Restaurant, 810 E. University Blvd., say business is steady because their location is good - but that the seasonal population shift in the area is a blow to increasing rent prices.

"Winter and summer are bad no matter if they are corporate businesses or not," says owner Hana Alassadi.

Jackson says he understands these concerns but that the foundation cannot lower rent because it must make enough profit to continue providing donations.

"We have to make a return," he says.

Looking ahead

It's lunchtime on University Boulevard, and every table on the Cafˇ Paraiso patio is full. People gather casually under evergreen-colored umbrellas chatting over cold iced teas and overstuffed sandwiches.

One person stands out from this crowd.

Seated facing the street, Shelby Bogers beams at the empty space that was once Coffee Plantation, a popular study haven that closed in January along with several other Arizona and Utah locations. Bogers is the general contractor hired to convert the space into the Marshall Foundation's latest endeavor: Pei Wei Asian Diner, which is owned by PF Chang's China Bistro Inc. Construction began last week.

Scheduled to open in July, Pei Wei will be the newest business to move into the university area. Although University Boulevard already has three Chinese restaurants, Laura Cherry, the national public relations manager for PF Chang's, says Pei Wei will give guests in the area "another dining option."

Before Pei Wei was slotted to move to University Boulevard, Urban Outfitters, 901 E. University Blvd., was the last chain to move to the area, changing the street's look and generating more revenue for the foundation.

Some chains, however, have not seen such success. The Gap closed in March due to a plunge in the store's sales nationwide. Jackson speculated that a new tenant will be in the space by summer's end.

Finally, by the summer of 2003, the newest structure to move into the University Boulevard-area will be a five-story, 98,823 square-foot building that will house the Arizona Bookstore and other retailers in addition to four floors of UA offices.

The groundbreaking for the building was pushed back when the economy took a dive after Sept. 11. Jackson says as soon as the foundation finds concrete tenants, construction on the building will begin.

Now, 72 years after Mrs. Marshall began to make her dream a reality, tenants on University continue to come and go and always will. Still, University Boulevard continues to prosper and expand. But can the Marshall Foundation continue its success, and can today's businesses keep their doors open in the future?

Edberg is confident at least Landmark will be around.

"I don't like being retired," he says. "I've already been retired once. So far as I'm concerned, as long as I'm healthy, I'll be here."