Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/400168
8 S C T / N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 4 T H E C O M M O N A R E A Canadian gold High Street Shopping Center, in Abbotsford, British Colum- bia, took the Gold for new developments between 400,001 and 750,000 square feet at the ICSC Canadian Convention, in Toronto. The 600,000-square-foot shopping center is owned by Shape Abbotsford West Limited Partnership and managed by Shape Property Management Corp. The property makes the most of its urban location by stacking 90 stores across three levels. The ground floor is home to a Main Street–style row of retailers and a Walmart Supercenter. The second floor houses an 11-screen cinema and some offices. The ICSC Canadian Shopping Centre Awards honor achievement in marketing and design or development of retail properties and stores. High-tech parking lot makes shopping easier at Pentagon Row Federal Realty Investment Trust has created what it calls one of the most advanced and sustainable parking facilities in the U.S. at its Pentagon Row mixed-use center, in Arlington, Va. The firm has installed 1,946 sensors in each of the facility's parking spaces to record whether a space is occupied and then forward that information to illuminated signs and the Pentagon Row mobile parking app, which direct parkers to the closest avail- able spaces to their final shopping destination. By eliminating the need for drivers to circle the parking garage searching for a space, Pentagon Row's sen- sor system provides a more convenient and greener parking experience. "We are proud to host one of the first parking facilities in the nation to offer such a comprehensive space sensor system," said Robin McBride Zeigler, vice president, Mid-Atlantic COO for Federal Realty. "No longer do drivers have to circle the parking facility looking for an open space. Visitors are guided directly to open parking and can get in and out of parking areas more quickly and con- veniently than ever before." Pentagon Row's parking sensors send live parking in- formation to the Pentagon Row mobile parking app, providing unprecedented convenience to shoppers by guiding them directly to open spaces, dramati- cally improving the overall shopping experience. In addition to saving shoppers valuable time, the sensors also promote sustain- ability by reducing exhaust emissions from circling vehicles. Pentagon Row's mobile parking app also provides up-to- the-minute parking rate information and shows the location of available free parking. Drivers who forget where they parked can even use it to locate their vehicles, using the 'find my car' feature. The free Pentagon Row app is available in the iTunes app store and Google Play. A tale of two wages Westfield Valley Fair sits on the border between the California cities of Santa Clara and San Jose. Since San Jose's minimum wage is $10.15 an hour and Santa Clara's is only $9 per hour, it's harder for tenants on the Santa Clara side of the mall to keep staff, managers say. But the grass isn't necessarily greener on the San Jose side. Managers there say they have to do more business to absorb higher overhead to pay those workers more.