Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
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A U G U S T 2 0 1 6 / S C T 37 on's difficulties and get the project on track. Miskin realized that many of the small studios were all-workshop and no-showroom — an inhospitable reality that was unlikely to draw visitors. Fur- thermore, few of the tenants possessed the retail expertise to understand the problem or to make their spaces more shopper-friendly. Over the next four months, Miskin's six-person visual- merchandising team worked with ten- ants to help them design and build storefronts uniquely reflective of the craft and merchandise of each. Miskin redid the restrooms using white sub- way tile and trendy lighting and re- placed common-area seating with whimsical, squiggle-shaped benches in purple, blue and green. Artegon Marketplace earned a Sil- ver in the traditional-marketing cat- egory of ICSC's U.S. MAXI Awards at this year's RECon. Higgins credits Miskin for much of the improvement. "Since David has taken over and rede- veloped the shopping center, our sales are up by over 50 percent year-to-date," she said. Today Artegon management provides training to help its artist tenants learn the skills to make them successful retailers. The classes cover social media, improving the customer experience and similar business skills. "We look at ourselves like an incuba- tor," Miskin said. "Just because you're the best artisan in your field doesn't mean you know how to run a business, so we're teaching them." A second phase of renovations will introduce a 22,000-square-foot food hall called Eat Street. Food halls such as Gotham West Market, in New York City, are popping up across the country, providing shared seating and a variety of food counters in one spot. Eat Street, slated to open by the second quarter of next year, will offer shoppers nearly two dozen eateries of local restaurateurs from which to choose as well as cooking classes taught by local chefs. Plans for the cooking school and food hall are al- ready generating inquiries from domes- tic and international tour-group organiz- ers. "Tour planners love food," Miskin said. "We show them the plans for Eat Street and they say, 'Sign me up!'" The various types of classes offered at Artegon will fill a critical void in Or- lando, according to Miskin. Many of the business travelers attending conventions in the area bring along friends and fam- ily members to take in the nearby theme parks, he explains, but those people may find little else to do. "We can offer the cooking school, and a lot of these art- ists teach classes and have date nights," Miskin said. "You can learn glass blow- ing [and] jewelry or candle making, and it's all very interactive." S C T 2003 Belz Factory Outlets opens Festival Bay, in Orlando, Fla. 2014 Artificial lake is removed, center is renamed Artegon Marketplace 2015 Owners launch rehab to combat low occupancy, tapping local artisans 2016 Phase II of the center's redevelopment to include food hall 2011 Lightstone Group buys the center for $25 million ALL ABOUT ARTEGON