Shopping Centers Today

JUN 2017

Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)

Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/827208

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 30 of 59

Retail REITs are still building in locations that demand densification, developers said on earnings calls. "We are taking a strict and cautious approach and believe that urban core, in-fill retail projects with multifamily or other vertical development opportunities are the future," said Ross Cooper, Kimco Realty Corp.'s president and chief investment officer. The firm's Lincoln Square development, in Center City, Philadelphia, a joint venture with multifamily developer Alterra Property Group, is such a project, he said. At the end of the first quarter, Simon had some $1.1 billion worth of redevelopment and expansion projects under way at 25 properties. Construction continues at the company's Allen (Texas) Premium Outlets; The Galleria, in Houston; La Plaza Mall, in McAllen, Texas; and Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, in Central Valley, N.Y. The firm is also building the Neiman Marcus– anchored Shops at Clearfork, near Fort Worth, Texas. Neiman Marcus opened recently, and the mall itself will open in the fall. Simon is also working on a new outlet center in Norfolk, Va. Federal Realty Investment Trust, meanwhile, has $600 million of con - DEMOGRAPHICS DEMAND DENSIFICATION REITs are still developing new space in tight in-fill markets Accounting for a sizable chunk of new U.S. retail space over the next few years will be such massive urban mixed-use developments as Brickell City Cen- tre (Miami), City Point (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Hudson Yards (New York City), all of which also have signifi- cant office and residential components, JLL research- ers note. One benefit for mixed-use developments is the general good health of the urban multifamily sector, which, Lambert says, is more stable than its suburban counterpart because of its typically high- er-quality construction, longer-term tenants and pricier rents. The national retail vacancy rate was 5.4 percent at the start of 2016 and dropped to 5 percent by year- end, according to commercial real estate research and services firm Franklin Street. But department-store shrinkage and other retail downsizings may push that slightly upward by the end of this year, the firm says. Aventura Mall's 315,000-square- foot addition will house a two- story Topshop Topman and several destination restaurants Weingarten's Gateway Alexandria (Va.) will contain housing and retail J U N E 2 0 1 7 / S C T 31

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Shopping Centers Today - JUN 2017