JLL’s new formula for mixed-use properties
In the latter half of the 20th Century, top retail brands left bustling downtowns and took up shop in mega-malls that drew demographically divergent customers from 10 to 20 miles away. Thriving mall developers were able to rely on building plans and tenant curations that worked as well in Boston or Los Angeles as they did in Grand Rapids or Knoxville.
Here in the 21st Century, however, with new retail construction at an all-time low, the most actively constructed retail setting is the mixed-use center--ground-up downtowns peopled by residents and office workers and hotel guests with more specific demographics and higher average income levels.
That’s what led us in JLL’s property management unit to introduce The Mixx, a group that coalesces the talents of specialized departments such as property management, marketing, place-making strategy, and leasing advisory to help mixed-use developers establish unique identities for their projects and turn them into vibrant, market-leading destinations.
Meet The Mixx!
Every project is bespoke. The Mixx works with developers on properties in development, under renovation, or in distress and in need of some solutions. We start by identifying a client’s vision for a project.
At The Plaza Coral Gables development in Miami, we helped Agave, a developer with little mixed- use experience, with management considerations on how to properly establish operations during the development process of each element’s delivery.
One of the biggest challenges with onboarding and executing the property management phase of the project was getting alignment between the individual asset classes and embedding a “one team, one goal” culture. The launch of JLL’s mixed-use advisory platform coincided perfectly with Agave’s needs at The Plaza Coral Gables and was instrumental in achieving this alignment.
The Mixx acts as a unifying force of JLL specialists in all classes of real estate to address the complex problems faced by mixed-use developers. This innovative structure aligns JLL’s diverse capabilities and resources to deliver exceptional value in the flourishing mixed-use real estate sector, which is reshaping urban and suburban environments and investment strategies within commercial real estate.
As mixed-use real estate continues to reshape commercial real estate and redefine community living, The Mixx meets a long-term market need by leveraging JLL’s collective knowledge and capabilities to provide clients with a targeted, efficient solution that addresses the unique challenges and opportunities presented by these dynamic developments.
Kristin Mueller is JLL’s president of retail property management and Sean McNamara is managing director of JLL’s The Mixx unit.
