Features

Bojangles takes a look at location design and its impact on operations, franchisee success and guest experience. Restaurant design plays a critical role in the success of any QSR brand. From streamlining operations and supporting menu execution to shaping the guest journey, every design decision has a direct impact on restaurant performance. At Bojangles, our approach to location design evolves as we continue to grow as a brand. And, with nearly five decades of experience behind us, evolving with changing consumer, operations, menu, financial and technology trends is something Bojangles …

How healthcare-adjacent retail development is prescriptive for community-centered design. In today’s evolving retail landscape, one of the most promising — and often overlooked — opportunities lies in the land surrounding our nation’s hospitals and medical centers. As healthcare systems continue to expand and consolidate, savvy development executives recognize the immense potential of strategically positioning retail properties in locations that are adjacent to major medical facilities. Doing so combines consistent foot traffic, demographic advantages and an urgent need for community-focused amenities. This was the scenario that RDC’s placemaking design team faced …

Targeted activity is propelling California’s retail market forward as investors chase core assets and consumers drive demand, despite the continued presence of high costs and development hurdles. California’s retail market is a bit of an enigma nowadays. That’s because it’s both resurgent and restrained, as Jimmy Slusher, senior vice president of CBRE’s National Retail Partners-West team, notes. “Retail in California remains resilient despite a more complex economic and political backdrop,” he explains. “While interest rates remain elevated, debt capital for retail has increased, with strong lender demand and relatively tight …

Boasting strong, steady real estate fundamentals, unanchored shopping centers remain in high demand — but good luck finding available product to acquire. Investment sales for anchored and unanchored open-air centers remain strong — thanks to their unwavering, stable fundamentals. What makes open-air strips a desirable property type is they are both recession-proof and internet-proof — meaning people will always need the product or service, and they can’t get it online. Rob Holuba, managing director of CenterSquare Investment Management, has a name for these irreplaceable spaces: Essential Service Retail (ESR). In …

Disconnects between buyers and sellers, higher interest rates and uncertainty in the market led to a stagnant market for single-tenant retail properties in 2024. Many see an upturn ahead for 2025. Deals are getting done in the net lease sector, just not with the volume or velocity that industry veterans would like to see. Higher interest rates have hampered transactions in most commercial real estate sectors, leading to a slowdown in 1031 transactions, which the net lease sector is extremely dependent upon.  Those in the industry are positive about 2025, …