ICSC recognizes top shopping center achievements

Las Vegas The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) has announced ICSC’s Best-of-the-Best Award winners. The winners were named during the annual Best-of-the-Best Awards ceremony that took place at RECon 2010 on Sunday in Las Vegas.

The awards honor and recognize the most outstanding examples of shopping center design and development, sustainability, marketing, and community service worldwide.

“This year’s winners have set themselves apart from the rest of the retail real estate industry by creating a unique and exceptional design, campaign or program,” said Michael P. Kercheval, president and CEO for ICSC.  

Shopping Square Meydan in Istanbul, Turkey, took home the award for the best in sustainability. Shopping Square Meydan acts as a green oasis in the middle of a city district dominated by concrete edifices by offering a place to stroll and picnic. It also incorporates such ecological aspects as cooling and heating systems, which are provided by one of the largest geothermal systems in Europe, and natural roof meadows.

The shopping square combines shopping and leisure time activities with 50 different shops, a food court with restaurants and cafes and a movie-theater complex, representing a new generation of retail properties in Istanbul.

CentralWorld in Bangkok, Thailand, won for best design and development. CentralWorld underwent a multimillion dollar transformation that created a visually and physically accessible mixed-use complex with over 2 million sq. ft. of retail space. The new center connects directly to the elevated light rail and busy ground level major cross streets, creating a more opportunities to engage the public.

Meanwhile, SunEdison from Developers Diversified Realty won for best marketing. Developers Diversified’s partnership with SunEdison generated $1.2 million by leasing their largest unused asset, rooftops, and having SunEdison pay rent for the right to deploy solar energy across Developers Diversified’s portfolio. The national solar program also reduced energy costs, allowing the company to pass along savings to tenants. In addition, the new recurring revenue stream, estimated at $40 million, came at no tangible expense to the company at a time of extreme capital preservation. Annual clean energy use at the three New Jersey properties is likened to taking 3,000 cars off the road.