Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/863214
T: +1 646 728 3800 F: +1 732 694 1730 www.icsc.org Editor in Chief EDMUND MANDER +1 646 728 3487 EDITORIAL Managing Editor BRANNON BOSWELL +1 646 728 3488 Copy Chief DAVID S. ORTIZ Copy Editor VALERIE DAVID Contributing Editors JOE GOSE JOEL GROOVER BEN JOHNSON STEVE M c LINDEN REBECCA MEISER RUMSEY SPENCER ADVERTISING & MARKETING MICHAEL BELLI +1 714 313 1942 mbelli@icsc.org SHEILA CHARTON +1 646 728 3545 scharton@icsc.org AMIE LEIBOVITZ +1 773 360 1179 aleibovitz@icsc.org SALLY STEPHENSON +1 847 835 1617 sstephenson@icsc.org Production Manager DAVID STACKHOUSE +1 646 728 3482 dstackhouse@icsc.org ICSC OFFICERS Chair man KENNETH F. BERNSTEIN President and CEO TOM M c GEE Vice Chairman VALERIE RICHARDSON, CRX, CLS Past Chairman ELIZABETH I. HOLLAND Treasurer STEFAN FREIBERG For article reprints, call (866) 879-9144 or contact sales@fostereprints.com S H O P P I N G C E N T E R S T O D A Y SCT (ISSN 0885-9841) is pub lished monthly. VOLUME 38 ISSUE 9 © 2017, International Coun cil of Shop ping Cen - ters, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020- 1099; phone, +1 (646) 728 3800; fax, +1 732 694 1730. All rights reserved. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and ad di tion al mailing offices. Sub scrip tions $70 per year; Canada and other foreign $99. Single-copy price $10 (May issue $20). For subscription information call +1 727 784 2000. POST MAS TER: Send address changes to Shopping Cen ters Today, Sawida Worley, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020-1099. Publications mail agreement No. 41482022, return unde- liverable Canadian addresses to PO Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill ON L4B 4R6. N ext month's ICSC Western Conference & Deal Making is moving to the Los Angeles Convention Center, located in one of the busiest retail real estate markets in the U.S. The Los Angeles downtown is undergoing a transformation, and the convention venue is surrounded by a vibrant mix of retail, restaurants and entertainment. And because it is a major metropolitan area, the location is conveniently and centrally located for attendees. We're excited about this move, as are our exhibitors, who have leased substantial additional square feet of space over last year. Our keynote speaker at the Western Conference, basketball legend Earvin (Magic) Johnson, is a champion of revitalization. As chairman and CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises and the $1 billion Canyon Johnson real estate fund, he has made a second career out of urban redevelopment through his retail and entertainment projects. Like downtown Los Angeles, our industry is evolving and diversifying. U.S. restaurant sales surpassed grocery store sales for the first time ever last year, and shopping center landlords have responded by increasing the space allotted to dining options — food service is expected to comprise 20 percent of retail centers in some markets by 2025, up from about 5 percent a decade ago. One million new food-and-beverage jobs have been created in the past three years, as new restaurants open in shopping centers across the country. Owners are changing the tenant mix in other ways, too, by bringing in entertainment, homes, hotels, medical centers and other businesses. And we see the evolution at ICSC as well, with a broader variety of professional backgrounds represented at our meetings. Service to our members is more important than it has ever been, and Tom McGee ICSC President and CEO A M E S S A G E F R O M T H E P R E S I D E N T World-class service ICSC events are key to this strategic priority. One way we are modernizing and improving ICSC is by expanding other major meetings, like the Western Conference. Attendance has been growing steadily each year at the New York Deal Making, and this year's will be even bigger, with delegates coming from around and outside of the U.S. To accommodate them, ICSC is moving the show to the upper level of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and leasing 225,000 square feet of class-A exhibitor space — up from 175,000 square feet last year. There will also be professional development sessions and a Retail Runway, and major keynote speakers are to be announced soon. In the future, a planned $1.4 billion reconstruction and expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center will positively impact RECon. To sum up, we are focusing on improving our programs and the venues in which they are held to better serve you, our members. I look forward to seeing many of you in Los Angeles, and, as always, thank you for your membership in ICSC.