Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/462841
locations. Walmart store roofs are used for solar panels, but the retailer's online division headquarters in São Paulo, Brazil, boasts a different roof- top use: a leisure setting for workers that includes a miniature golf course. In China a highly unusual roof use at the eight-story Jiutian International Plaza, in downtown Zhuzhou, also has an employee orientation. Developer Zhuzhou Jiutian Real Estate built four villas there, one on each corner of the roof, to serve as offices for the firm's 160 real estate management employ- ees. Though a curiosity at present, the idea has other potential applications, says JLL's Hirschfeld. Green "living roofs" continue to be introduced in the industry, led by Sweden's futuristic three- story Emporia Mall, in Malmö. The 27,000-square-meter (about 290,500 square feet) roof serves as a pub- lic park, with trees, terraces and thousands of plants, and as an amenity for mall visitors and store employees. Some developers are using roofs for both ecology and goodwill. In 2012 Brazilian developer Ancar Ivanhoe launched a green-roof program at its El- dorado shopping center, in São Paulo, that grows food for donation to needy communities. Since its inception, some 10 tons of vegetables and herbs have been harvested and distributed locally. In 2014 the program was expanded to Rio de Janeiro centers Shopping Nova America and Boulevard Rio. "We be- lieve that each development is not just a shopping center, but also a transform- ing agent of the center's surrounding so- ciety," said Marcelo Carvalho, president of Ancar Ivanhoe. Unlike other roof leases and uses, mall-top cell-tower construction is driven solely by the pressing needs of the telecom industry. In fact, wireless networks are increasing capacity from 60 percent to 70 percent annually, says Ken Schmidt, president of Fort Myers, Fla.–based Steel in the Air, a cell-tower lease specialist. Because traditional tow- ers provide between one and five miles of service in metro areas and roughly 25 miles in open areas, more opportunities abound, he says. To boost coverage, cell- service providers are densifying signals, with smaller installations; up to 40,000 of those are expected across the U.S. this year alone, according to Schmidt. Not all cell towers get green-lighted in the U.S. "Zoning regulations are as tough as we've seen," Schmidt said. Some areas have camouflage or "stealth" requirements — such as Cali- fornia and parts of the Pacific North- west — that force carriers to disguise their towers as trees or flagpoles, he notes. "Cities are trying to keep them out of residential areas," Schmidt said. "And that means more opportunities for shopping centers." S C T M a r c h 2 0 1 5 / S C T 35 I N T E GR AC I Ó N E S L A S O LU C I Ó N