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Category: Development

Retail-to-Industrial Conversions: Revolution or Niche Trend?

It may have been unthinkable ten to fifteen years ago, but the shift in consumer shopping patterns from brick-and-mortar stores to online platforms has resulted in the emergence of retail-to-industrial conversions over the past few years.  With lower demand for retail space in many markets, several developers and major...
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We’re Here for the Food Hall Party

Time to Eat, Drink and Socialize!
If you haven’t eaten at a food hall yet… it is likely only a matter of time before you do. They are popping up all over the country and are gaining popularity. Unlike traditional mall food courts, food halls typically include higher end and trendy concepts all within one...
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Opportunity Zones Steal the Show

ICSC's 2019 Mid-Atlantic Conference and Deal Making
The Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center played host to the ICSC's 2019 Mid-Atlantic Conference and Deal Making event last week. After being snowed out last year, the conference rebounded with high attendance and spectacular views of the Potomac River. The overall mood of attendees was surprisingly upbeat given the...
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Technology Shifts the Retail Landscape for Open Air Centers

ICSC's OAC Summit 2019
I just returned from ICSC's OAC Summit, which was held in Austin last week.  For those how have not yet attended this conference, the OAC is not a deal making conference like many other ICSC conferences.  Rather, the OAC is a relationship building and information sharing event, attended largely by...
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Recycling the Big Box

Retailers shuttered a record amount of brick-and-mortar store space in 2018, shattering the previous record set in 2017, and big box stores were the largest contributors to the empty space. Iconic brands, such as Sears, Macy’s, J.C. Penney, Toys "R" Us, Inc., Bon Ton and Lord & Taylor all...
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Three Trends Driving Consumer Behavior in the Retail Real Estate Business

Goulston & Storrs partners Nancy Davids, Matt Epstein, Karen O’Malley and David Rabinowitz  recently sat down with  Forbes  to discuss how changes in consumer behavior continue to drive evolution in the retail real estate business. The group identified three key trends through a collaborative discussion with  Forbes  contributor Richard Kestenbaum...
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On the Origin of Retail: An Evolutionary Analysis

“Retail Apocalypse!”  “Amazon Takeover!”  “Goodbye, Brick-and-Mortar!”  These reflect the flavor of headlines these past few years: one of a retail Armageddon, or the end as we know it of brick-and-mortar. While several prominent retailers have turned to bankruptcy and store closures, research demonstrates that this doomsday hype is somewhat overblown. Statistics indicate...
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On Retaildential Densification: Unpacking the Jargon and Trends of Adding Residential Uses to Shopping Centers

Retail follows rooftops. Few real estate adages are more axiomatic. Increasingly, however, the reverse is becoming true, and rooftops, or residential uses, are cozying up to retail . We’ve written previously that residential developers are increasingly finding shopping centers to be an irresistible tenant amenity . Whether residential uses...
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Following An Evolving Retail Scene In New York City

New York City, one of the world’s premier shopping destinations is about to get over one and a half million square feet of new retail space. Some will be delivered to Long Island City, an area that has been waiting for a retail resurgence for over 2 decades, and...
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Bringing Residential Uses to Existing Shopping Centers--A Win Win

Tenant curation, experiential retail , and social media-based marketing are thriving trends in today’s brick-and-mortar shopping center industry. Retail is not the only real estate asset class susceptible to trends, and a recent dominant trend in the multifamily residential sector may offer valuable opportunities for shopping center owners. For those...
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Vitamin D and Retail: But Not Without Due Diligence First

We’ve all read about the question marks floating around the fate of brick and mortar retail in America. Factors like the strength of e-commerce and shifting consumer preferences (such as the popularity of urban centers over suburbia and consumers’ yearn for experiences over traditional shopping trips) are challenging landlords...
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ICSC New York Deal Making (2017)

On December 6-7, the Javits Center played host to this years’ ICSC NY Deal Making Conference. ICSC featured a new format at this years’ Conference. In addition to the deal making opportunities on Wednesday and Thursday, ICSC partnered with retailers and leading  real estate companies to present several hour...
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Medtail: Why Your Doctor Is Treating You in a Strip Mall

The retail universe is well aware of the hype that it is only a matter of time until brick and mortal retail succumbs to its online competitors .  However, despite the “doom and gloom” we generally see in headlines, retail has actually remained stable and, in fact, is thriving...
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The Cure For The Last Mile? Retooling Shopping Malls as E-commerce Distribution Centers

In addition to gigantic warehouses that e-commerce companies are constructing away from population centers where real estate is limited or too pricey, shopping malls and former shopping mall sites are well poised to be the newest e-commerce logistics and distribution hubs. With the deluge of vacant malls and vacant...
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A Case of Caution: the Effect of Redevelopment on Existing Mall Leases

In a follow-up to coverage regarding the White Flint Mall redevelopment, the jury has reached a verdict. Until recently, White Flint Mall in Bethesda, Maryland was a prime example of retail mall success. However, as the mall began to lose tenants and customers, its owner decided to redevelop the...
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