Shopping Centers Today

AUG 2017

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

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16 S C T / A U G U S T 2 0 1 7 T H E C O M M O N A R E A P op music star Jimmy Buffett has been singing about the laid-back, escape-to-the-islands "Margaritaville" lifestyle for decades. His fans will soon get a chance to live out some of that themselves, and shopping centers will play no small part. Buffett is rolling out some U.S.-based active-lifestyle communities for seniors, called Latitude Margaritaville, in partnership with Canadian homebuilder Minto Communities. The first two of these were announced this year, and they will comprise some 7,000 homes in Daytona Beach, Fla., and in Hilton Head, S.C. Buffett parlayed his musical fortune into a real estate empire of resorts and casinos. He also has a number of restau- rant concepts, including the Margarita- ville, an entertainment-oriented restau- rant; the Cheeseburger in Paradise; the 5 o'Clock Somewhere Bar & Grill; the LandShark Bar & Grill; and the high- end JWB Prime Steak & Seafood. Florida-based retail development firm Sutton Properties is developing the retail portions of both mixed-use communities. At the Daytona Beach location, Sutton Properties is develop- ing an adjacent 200,000-square-foot, grocery-anchored shopping center in two phases. This project will feature one of Buffett's restaurants, and leasing will D E V E LO P M E N T Livin' it up Retail to rock at Jimmy Buffett's Latitude Margaritaville retirement communities By Ben Johnson kick off in August at the ICSC Florida Conference & Deal Making, in Orlando, according to Sam Sutton, founder of Sutton Properties. Sutton says he hopes to deliver the initial 80,000 square feet of space, in- cluding a grocery anchor, by the third quarter of next year. "We're negoti- ating with supermarket chains now," said Sutton. "I really don't think the first phase will be that difficult, since we've already had real good interest from a number of tenants." Indeed, Sutton is confident that ten- ants will be sold on the Daytona Beach location. "It's got a terrific location, and growth is heading to that area. Minto has had 70,000 responses on their website from people who are interested in getting more information and buy- ing homes there, so it's on fire." The Hilton Head project will include up to 3,000 homes in the $200,000 to $300,000 range. Sutton Properties acquired a 72-acre commer- cial parcel within the development and will build in three phases, starting with a shopping center on Highway 278 that will be anchored by a grocery store and one of the Margaritaville restaurant concepts. "We're also looking at some festive retail projects around the coun- try, like Myrtle Beach has, to kind of liven up the offering — so there will be entertainment, there will be amenities, and there will be services for the com- munity," said Sutton. The second phase will comprise one or two hotels, and the third phase will be a public town center within the development. Sutton has developed a working relationship with the city leaders of Hardeeville, S.C., in which the center is being developed. "They are very supportive," Sutton said, "and we're coordinating with them to bring in the best tenants and really just light a fire to an area of Hilton Head that's lagged in development." Sutton has been in retail development for roughly 30 years, starting out with community and neighborhood shop- ping centers and more recently entering the factory-outlet business. But the Mar- garitaville projects top them all. "It's very exciting, it's different," said Sutton. The developers are hoping to draw those of the boomer generation who now seek an active retirement. "There are a lot of baby boomers that are look- ing to retire, but not [to] lay back and rust," said Sutton. "They're looking for an active, fun retirement, and a lot of those people like Jimmy Buffett's songs and lifestyle concept, so it was really a natural to combine the lifestyle with the great Florida weather and location." n

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