By Luke McElwain, VP of Development & Construction at Maxus Properties & Chicken N Pickle, and Kelli Alldredge, President of Chicken N Pickle Ten years ago, before pickleball became America’s fastest-growing sport, Chicken N Pickle was built around a much bigger idea than a game. We believed people were craving something that had become increasingly difficult to find: authentic, face-to-face connection. Our vision wasn’t simply to build a restaurant or an entertainment venue. It was to create a place where families, friends, coworkers and neighbors could gather, celebrate and build …
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By Maggy Sutton, chief marketing officer of Grupo Eco As World Cup excitement continued to build across the globe, retail and mixed-use destinations prepared for more than just an added boost to their revenue. They used the tournament as a placemaking opportunity, turning open-air centers into fan hubs designed to bring people together, drive tenant traffic and give visitors new reasons to move throughout a property before, during and after matches. That strategy took shape at Atlantic Village in Hallandale Beach, Florida, which kicked off its monthlong World Cup celebration …
As retail continues to evolve, shopping centers continue to be community hubs that foster connection, engagement, and local impact. Second Horizon Capital’s 250 Acts of Community initiative is one example of how retail properties are turning that commitment into action. Inspired by America250, the portfolio-wide initiative encourages acts of service, appreciation, and community engagement across Second Horizon Capital’s seven shopping centers nationwide. As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, the initiative provides a way for shopping centers to celebrate by investing in the communities they serve. From honoring military families …
Many landlords are looking for help with their theater properties. The Cinema Bridge’s Chuck Stilley offers advice on how shopping center owners and theatre operators can work together. Interview by Randall Shearin: Movie theatre box office sales in 2025 were on pace with 2024, but since the pandemic they have been about two-thirds of the industry’s volume. From 2015 to 2019, the motion picture exhibition industry averaged over $11 billion in annual box office sales. Since 2022, that number has settled to around $8 billion, according to anaylsis of data …
Retail real estate has always evolved alongside consumer behavior. Department stores once anchored malls. Big-box retailers reshaped power centers. Restaurants and lifestyle tenants followed as developers began focusing on creating environments rather than simply leasing space. Today the industry is entering another transformation — one driven not by retail, but by experience. Across the country, shopping center owners, landlords, investors, and developers and cities are searching for tenants that do more than sell products. They want concepts that generate unique visits, consistent traffic, extend dwell time, and turn properties into …
With challenges including high interest rates, construction prices and longer permitting timelines, the cost to own, build, remodel and lease restaurant space today has gone through the roof. Forward-thinking restaurant tenants and retail landlords, though, are finding creative ways to make things work. In today’s environment, it’s necessary to find imaginative solutions when neogitating lease terms and structures, in order make both tenants and landlords comfortable and willing to close transactions. Colliers’ retail brokerage team in Central Florida has recently observed several trends that illustrate this ingenuity. Annual increases in …
Reed Cordish of The Cordish Companies gives a peek behind the curtain at Nashville Live!, the company’s newest attraction. The Cordish Companies owns and operates many entertainment districts surrounding professional sports arenas around the country, including Texas Live! in Arlington, Xfinity Live! in Philadelphia and Bally Sports Live! in St. Louis. The latest entry for the company is Nashville Live!, which will feature five levels of entertainment and dining at completion, as well as a floor dedicated to private events. In 2022, The Cordish Companies purchased the historic George Jones …
How retail center owners can ride the $100 billion third wave of digital. Industry experts are calling retail media networks the ‘third wave’ of digital. A number of large retailers have already earned more than $1 billion with their retail media networks. This source of high margin annual revenue also has the potential to impact retail center owners. How is Retail Media the Third Wave of Digital? Each wave of change since the world has leaned more toward digital marketing has brought both disruption and opportunity. The first big wave …
Legal covenants often cause excessive property taxation for mall owners that are looking to redevelop. The repurposing of malls and anchor stores is a popular topic in community development circles, but legal restrictions make redevelopment extremely difficult. Often locked into their original use by covenants, malls and anchor stores are often grossly over-valued for property tax purposes. In pursuing a redevelopment, taxpayers should ensure the properties are fairly assessed and taxed. Debilitating Obsolescence It is difficult to overstate the plight of malls and department store anchors. Gone are the halcyon …
Looking beyond aesthetics, many are viewing a property’s design as a valuable asset. As centers evolve to have more experiential tenants, many are looking at design as one way to convey experience to visitors. Adding open-air elements, like public gathering spaces, parks and murals, has become popular. Centers are also more open to blending uses than creating retail districts. SCB recently interviewed Mitra Esfandiari, partner at Long Beach, California-based RDC, who has worked on a number of forward-thinking centers over the past decade. SCB: How are center owners viewing design …