From The Magazine

Texas’s latest developments feature a common thread: a sense of place. Why are people drawn to spend money and time at certain places in a city? What makes someone want to do their shopping, stop for coffee or plan a date night at one spot versus another? Sometimes, it’s a special location or an emotional connection to a particular vendor. But in many instances, the draw is entirely by design. It’s an intentional, strategic urban planning tactic that’s been around for decades, and it’s called placemaking. What Is Placemaking?The concept …

Brokers, owners and developers active in the Mid-Atlantic’s retail sector describe a market buoyed by a strong consumer base, though the landscape varies somewhat across urban and suburban areas.  Even as the Mid-Atlantic contends with higher interest rates and a drop in daytime traffic within urban centers as a result of new work-from-home practices, retail in the region continues to shine. According to sources interviewed for this article, the market — despite these economic headwinds and uncertainties — is thriving and as strong as ever. As Richard Lake of Roadside …

Despite solid fundamentals at retail centers, investors are waiting for certainty in values, capital markets to transact. The U.S. retail market is currently on a long stretch of rock-solid performance at the property level. The national vacancy rate is at a healthy 4.1 percent, according to first-quarter 2024 research from CoStar Group. This comes one quarter after a stellar 4 percent vacancy rate at year-end 2023. What’s more is net store openings are on pace to be positive for the third consecutive year, according to research from Cushman & Wakefield. …

The complex projects encompass many moving parts and players. Keeping them all on the same page is crucial to success. If the whole mall redevelopment thing doesn’t work out, you can always become a marriage counselor. Perhaps some additional training and education would be needed for such a career transition to actually take place. But mall and shopping center owners who undertake high-risk redevelopments undoubtedly have firsthand appreciation of the importance of providing clear and courteous communication to the many different groups they deal with, from municipal leaders to longstanding …

Though construction headwinds persist, the potential of mixed-use projects motivates many developers to keep going. Some of today’s most successful projects can be described as a melting pot of sorts. That’s because they internalize the three Fs: flexible, financeable and functional — or, should we say, multi-functional. “Mixed-use concepts, in particular, seem to be the 401(k) of real estate development,” says Matt Silvers, vice president of Project Management Advisors in Austin, Texas. “They provide a bit of everything for everyone, including investors, and the mix of uses nicely hedges market …

Amid population and job growth, retailers see the Lone Star State an ideal territory for expansion. But tight conditions and high construction costs are creating challenges. The economic growth engine that is Texas continues to drive retail demand. With many major markets near full occupancy in urban and mature suburban neighborhoods, developers who launched grocery-anchored and other projects in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Metroplex as well as in and around Austin and Houston are well-positioned to take advantage of the fast-growing regions.  That’s especially true as the increasing cost of …