Unconventional Shopping

Center at Innovation

Center at Innovation has found itself a great home. The 276,000-sq.-ft. Super Target-anchored center, developed by Columbia, S.C.-based Edens & Avant, resides in Manassas, Va.—specifically in Prince William County, one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation. Surrounding the Center at Innovation’s site is prolific residential and office development activity and, because it’s the only retail piece in the vicinity, the center is expected to be highly trafficked.

Alamance Crossing

Main Street USA is coming to Burlington, N.C., as the CBL-developed Alamance Crossing project nears completion. Architecture references small-town America, while also paying tribute to the area’s rich history in the textile and tobacco industries. Lifestyle amenities such as spacious walkways and curb-side parking lend convenience as well as enjoyment to the complex.

On display this month in Las Vegas, Alamance Crossing is one of 14 CBL projects currently under construction. Other projects include Pear-land Town Center in Houston (Pearland, Texas) and phase two of Gulf Coast Town Center in Fort Myers, Fla.

The Arboretum

The Arboretum will draw plenty of attention at ICSC’s Spring Convention. The open-air lifestyle center in the northwest suburbs of Chicago has a premium location—at the intersection of Illinois Routes 59 and 72, along a corridor that is experiencing explosive growth. Just a mile away, in the mixed-use Prairie Stone Development, is Sears Holdings Corp.’s headquarters, the recently opened Sears Center event arena, a planned 450-room resort hotel, water park and Illinois’ first Cabela’s.

Developed by Northbrook, Ill.-based The Jaffe Cos., The Arboretum sits on the site of a former nursery and is envisioned by its developers as a true town center. “The Arboretum of South Barrington is meant to convey warmth and intimacy, but also timelessness and charm,” said Michael Jaffe, president. “It should feel as if it’s been there forever.”

Tudor-style architecture is intended to reference Market Square in Lake Forest, Ill., one of the country’s earliest integrated-use shopping centers. Fashion-apparel and home-furnishings stores will comprise about two-thirds of the retail mix, while the remaining third will be devoted to entertainment venues including a luxury cinema and destination restaurants.

City of North Las Vegas Town Center

A college scholarship will be awarded to whomever comes up with a name for the new mixed-use retail project in North Las Vegas. The even bigger winners are the community’s residents, who will have their own town center and gathering place.

The $300 million development will include a retail, dining and entertainment center, as well as a residential component consisting of about 800 units. “With its shops, dining, activities and enticing public spaces, it will be a place that will allow the community to gather in a festive atmosphere,” said Rick Kuhle, president of Phoenix-based Vestar.

Town-center amenities such as outdoor fireplaces, pop-jet fountains, a video wall, a performance stage, shaded walkways, lush landscape and extensive pedestrian walkways will create a true lifestyle destination.

The Streets of Indian Lake

Another major retail project on display in Las Vegas will be The Streets of Indian Lake, a 405,000-sq.-ft. lifestyle center near Nashville that serves as the lifestyle retail component of a Halo Properties master plan that includes 1 million sq. ft. of office space, a retail power center and upscale multifamily housing. Columbus, Ohio-based Continental Retail Development (CRD) is the developer of the lifestyle portion. The first group of tenants, including Barnes & Noble and Regal Cinema, were announced earlier this year.

“We are thrilled to be bringing these great specialty retail and entertainment tenants to Hendersonville,” said David Kass, president of CRD. “This is just the first wave.”

Silver Spring Square

Although the Harrisburg, Pa., area presented a multitude of site options, Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans Food Markets selected Silver Spring Square as the location of its first store in the south-central Pennsylvania market.

“That’s quite significant,” said Mac Chandler, managing director, Northeast investments, for Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers, co-developer of the project. Just as significant is what it has taken to get the community center developed.