Real Estate

What’s happening in Vegas is staying downtown
Detroit is not the only town that spent the past few decades building outward before looking inward. In June, the Las Vegas City Council approved a master plan for its Downtown district, focusing on both historic attractions and new development to drive more traffic there.

To make it happen, it hired RTKL, an architecture and urban design firm whose completed projects include Mirdif City Centre in Dubai and L.A. Live. Its plan calls for the establishment of a tech business center, expansion of its health care services and at least 5,000 new residents.
In the cool, cool, cool of the city
More and more these days, shopping center developers find themselves in the role of town planner. Once dedicated to creating pleasant spaces for people to shop in, they now are challenged to create places for people to live, play, eat and be entertained in. Build that, they’re told, and shoppers will come. But droves of millennials fleeing suburbs in search of more fulfilling urban lifestyles are giving developers an assist. In some cases, they’re hewing their own downtowns out of rough old sections of town. In others, old downtowns are remaking themselves to welcome this new city stock.

ON THE LEVEL

My face and name may be unfamiliar to you, but hopefully that will soon change. I have covered retail for decades, never retail real estate. But, I am happy to have landed in this spot. For, just as retailers need new traffic to thrive and grow, so do writers need new material, and this beat is rife with material.

Here’s what excites me about this space. It’s something I trust also excites — and perhaps scares — you retailers and developers out there. You are America’s new town planners.
Project Profiles

Los Gatos Village Square

Location: 15466 Los Gatos Boulevard, between California Highways 85 and 17 in Los Gatos, California

Size: 46,235 sq. ft.

Developer: Donahue Schriber Realty Group

Grocery anchor: Trader Joe’s

Key tenants: Pet Food Express, See’s Candies, The UPS Store, AAA Automobile Club, Baja Fresh Mexican Grill
Not enough of a good thing

With few new grocery centers being built, developers are upping the ante on existing ones

Pat Donahue, together with his late brother Dan and business partner Tom Schriber, has been in grocery-anchored shopping centers since the ’90s. That’s when Schriber calculated that the company’s long-term fortunes, which had rested on mall development up until then, would be better wagered on high-traffic “necessity-based” retail.

“At malls you get ’em three times a month.
Shop Talk

TRENDING STORES: Hello Kitty‘s pop-up café, at Irvine Spectrum Center in Irvine, Calif., has been drawing crowds since it opened in July. It’s housed in a shipping container that’s been painted pink and refurbished with a counter and dining patio area, complete with bistro tables and pink-and-white striped awnings. Character graphics adorn the exterior and interior container panels. The café will remain open for a year.
STORE BARRICADES WITH CURB AND BRAND APPEAL

High-quality, graphically interesting store barricades can turn an unsightly construction or remodeling site into a brand-enhancing billboard for a retailer. Chain Store Age spoke with Bob Putnam, the president and founder of Boston Barricade Company, about the evolving nature of retail construction barricades.

How have retail construction barricades changed over the years?

Thirty years ago, 98% of all retail barricades were constructed using metal framing and drywall. But today, that number is down to 35%.
Sporting goods retailer expands New York footprint

Modell’s Sporting Goods will open two stores in the New York metro area on August 25, bringing its total store count to 156 locations. The openings include Modell’s 11th location in Brooklyn, and a store in in Mount Kisco. Both locations will feature a wide selection of top brands such as Nike, Under Armour, Adidas, Reebok, Spalding and more.
Retailer in store expansion push

Not all retailers are reducing their store portfolios. DSW Inc. announced it will open 21 stores nationwide between August and October. The footwear and accessories retailer currently operates 482 stores in 42 states. "New store growth is an important and exciting piece of the DSW formula,” said Valara Gee, VP of stores, DSW.
Forest City to consider disposing of retail assets

Forest City Realty Trust may be on its way to having a greatly reduced investment in the mall industry and a bigger one in apartments and office assets. The Cleveland-based firm announced it is reviewing strategic alternatives for its retail portfolio. Forest City holds ownership stakes in 14 regional malls across the country and 19 specialty retail centers, mostly in New York City. The East River Plaza, which fronts the FDR Drive in Manhattan at 116th Street, is a Forest City property.
Report: Amazon planning to open drive-up grocery store

The world’s biggest online retailer is planning to open a drive-up grocery store in its hometown. At least that’s according to a report by GeekWire, which said Amazon plans to renovate a site in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood into a 9,759-sq.-ft. retail space where shoppers can pick up groceries that they ordered online.
Home furnishings retailer opens milestone store in historic space

West Elm opened its 100th store, at Empire Stores, in Brooklyn, New York. It is the first tenant to officially open in the restored 19th-century coffee roasting facility and warehouse. Located in Brooklyn’s Fulton Ferry Historic District, Empire Stores dates from 1869. Its massive red-brick walls feature distinctive round-arch openings and iron shutters, characteristic features of port warehouses of the period. The home furnishings retailer also has located its corporate headquarters within the building.