Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/122387
THE COMMON AREA It's a jungle out there The New York City–based American Museum of Natural History is opening its first outpost outside the city at Merrill Cos.' $430 million Prairiefire mixed-use development, in Overland Park, Kan. The 41,000-square-foot Museum of Prairiefire will be the first venue outside of New York to continually feature American Museum of Natural History traveling exhibitions. About 80 percent of the 207,000 square feet of retail space in the complex's initial phase is preleased. REI and The Fresh Market will open at Prairiefire in October, along with other first-to-market dining and New stores still a key growth strategy, retailer CFOs say U.S. expansion remains a key growth strategy for retailers in 2013, according to a CFO survey from consulting firm BDO. Some 30 percent of the respondents said expansion would be their priority this year, followed by improvements to merchandise assortment (24 percent of respondents) and investing in e-commerce and mobile commerce (22 percent.) "The opportunities abroad and online are clear, but retail executives still believe that U.S. stores are a entertainment venues — including Cinetopia, Pinstripes, Gene Simmons' Rock & Brews, Wasabi Sushi Bar, CoCo Bolos Wood-fired Grill — to follow in spring 2014. Prairiefire's initial phase, which involves 35 of the site's 58 acres, will also include 300 luxury apartments and a hiking/ biking trail that winds through an educational wetlands park and around the entire development. The project's second phase will include a boutique hotel, an outdoor arbor plaza, about 280,000 square feet of offices and approximately 150,000 square feet of additional retail space. core part of the business," said Ted Vaughan, a BDO partner for retail and consumer products. "In addition to investing in existing stores, we're also seeing several online brands introduce storefronts for the first time as they look to appeal to shoppers who want to see and try on merchandise in person." Nearly a third of the respondents said they plan to make overall advertising and promotions their biggest investment, almost 30 percent said they will invest most in e-commerce, and about a quarter said store redesign or remodeling will command the largest share of capital expenditure. Some 34 percent of these CFOs pointed to government fiscal uncertainty as the biggest risk to business over this next year, while 32 percent cited competition and consolidation. Supplier issues — foreign and domestic — are among the big risks according to 16 percent of respondents, while 12 percent named breaches of data, and 6 percent mentioned geopolitics and natural disasters. The BDO Retail Compass Survey of CFOs is a national telephone survey conducted by research firm Market Measurement. Green cities The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a list of 25 U.S. metropolitan areas with the most Energy Star–certified buildings in 2012, highlighting how owners and managers of commercial buildings across the country are taking action on climate change while delivering real financial savings to their bottom lines. California leads, with six cities on the list. For the fifth year in a row, Los Angeles 38 SCT / M a y 2 0 1 3 came in first, with 528 buildings. Washington, D.C., took second, with 462 buildings. Coming in third, with 353 buildings, is Chicago, which has risen through the rankings each year, from sixth place in 2008. Phoenix broke into the top 10 for the first time, with 202 buildings. Energy Star–certified buildings use about 35 percent less energy and are responsible for 35 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than typical buildings, according to the EPA.