Shopping Center Business is the leading monthly business magazine for the retail real estate industry.
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REGIONAL MALLS 136 • SHOPPING CENTER BUSINESS • December 2017 property owners an unprecedented op- portunity to add new uses that will likely resonate with today's changing consumer preferences. CREATIVE NEW ANCHOR SPACES Regarding anchor store replacement, there is not a "one size fits all" solution. Often, the key is not to replace these large boxes with other large boxes. We are con- verting a former Saks Fifth Avenue at The Mall at Willow Bend in Plano, Texas, into a collection of exciting restaurants that en- compasses well-known chefs and global cuisine. Elsewhere at the center, we will open the flagship for the Plano Children's Theatre, which combines entertainment and education as it offers artistic produc- tions, and daily classes for youth ages 3 to 18. We think this partnership is right on target with our goal to connect with the Plano community emotionally. At Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn, Michigan, we've taken a former Lord & Taylor store together with some excess traditional mall shop space that had been vacant for more than a decade before SRP was even founded, and created office space for more than 2,000 Ford employ- ees for the next 10 years. We've already seen them picking up lunch, buying gifts, browsing and even joining the mall-walk- ers club. Ford considers our stores and services a tremendous amenity for their staff. And amenities are the next big factor in turning a shopping center into a gath- ering place. Defining that, however, isn't easy. What works in one location may not work in another. But the goals for all of them are the same: to make our guests feel more comfortable so that they'll stay lon- ger, and develop or deepen a relationship to the property. For example, The Mall at Partridge Creek in Clinton Township, Michigan, offers heated sidewalks, a television court and a 30-foot fireplace, creating areas where shoppers can gather even during the harsh winters. To be relevant today, you have to add other amenities well beyond seating and decorative lighting to keep shoppers feel- ing comfortable and safe. At Stony Point Fashion Park in Richmond, Virginia, we've added fountains, art, heated benches, fire pits, a dog park and a performance stage/ ice rink, with more soft seating to come. LET THE COMMUNITY BE A GUIDE A very successful way to create a con- sumer connection is by developing pro- gramming that involves the community, and in fact our Live 360˚ program is creat- ed by the community. Launched at Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted, Ohio, and The Mall at Wellington Green in Wel- lington, Florida, last year, the program is expanding to eight more projects in 2017, and portfolio-wide after that. With Live 360˚, our onsite management and marketing staff survey and then re- cruit members of the community to plan events, programs and spaces that will ap- peal to their markets. The projects have hosted farmers markets in the parking lots and common areas; held yoga and ukulele classes in center court (not at the same time); created theaters for chil- dren's perfor- mance troupes; and provided areas for locals to grow hydro- ponic vegeta- bles and teach creative arts. We are providing the stages for our community, helping them to embrace our centers as their own. Of course, we're not giving up on tradi- tional retail, either. Now that we have re- located JC Penney from an interior space within Northridge Mall in Salinas, Califor- nia, to an exterior location, we are busily redeveloping the reclaimed space with entertainment and experiential tenants. And you never know where the next great retailer, brand or concept will come from. We recently hosted "Battle of the Pop-Up" contests at three projects around the country, offering six months' free rent, fixturing and advice for new concepts at each center. Our team has been greatly impressed by the quality and diversity of the possibilities: Our four winners will be opening for business for the holidays, and the team hopes to partner with many of the other applicants going forward! Everything we think we know may no longer be right. As the pioneering com- puter scientist Admiral Grace Hopper once said, "The most damaging phrase in the language is 'It's always been done that way.'" SCB Michael Powers is senior vice president of leasing for Starwood Retail Partners. Macy's plans 68 closings this year, with JC Penney shuttering 138 stores and Sears some 250 units. While we've been fortunate enough to be unaffected by this latest round of consolidation, we also see that this gives property owners an unprecedented opportunity to add new uses that will likely resonate with today's changing consumer preferences. Michael Powers Senior Vice President of Leasing Starwood Retail Partners