2023 Spring Issue - 104

Gensler's reimagining of
MainPlace Mall in Santa
Ana, California, includes
densifying the perimeter
with entertainment
space, office space, and
multifamily housing that
should bring expanded foot
traffic to the retail portion
each day.
Located In the Pentagon City area of Arlington
County, Virginia, Pentagon Centre is not just a place
where people can peruse electronic gadgets at Best
Buy, get deals on clothing at Nordstrom Rack and
Marshalls, or stock up on everything from paper
towels to golf balls at Costco. They can actually live
right next to their favorite stores in The Witmer, a
26-story, 440-unit luxury apartment building that
towers over the complex. It is equipped with a stateof-the-art
fitness center, a rooftop pool, and other
upscale amenities, plus offers the convenience of a
location close to both downtown Washington, D.C.,
and Amazon's East Coast headquarters.
When The Witmer opened in 2019, " we leased
up in like six to eight months, " says Geoff Glazer,
senior vice president of Kimco Realty, a nationwide
owner-operator of retail centers. " It was crazy to
watch that happen. "
The building's success bodes well for The Milton,
an 11-story, 253-unit curvilinear residential building
near completion on the other side of the complex.
" We're thinking about doing a third one, " says Abbey
Oklak, Kimco's director of multifamily redevelopment.
The Witmer, The Milton, and residential infill
projects that Kimco has developed in Pennsylvania,
Texas, and elsewhere exemplify a trend gaining
momentum across the nation. Retail-to-residential
conversions range from apartment buildings that are
springing up in what were once mall parking lots or
the former sites of closed big-box stores, to partial
or complete " scrapes, " in which malls and shopping
104
URBAN LAND SPRING 2023
centers are torn down and replaced with mixed-use
communities with plenty of housing.
At a time when physical retail space faces tough
competition from e-commerce, retail center owners
increasingly see residential development as both a
new revenue source and a way to invigorate stores
by putting potential consumers nearby. And for
suburban malls and shopping centers that are in
decline or already closed, demolishing and replacing
them with apartment buildings and townhouses is
a way to capitalize on what often are desirable locations
in inner-ring suburbs or along major transportation
corridors.
Although there are often tricky challenges to turning
a sea of asphalt and concrete and enormous
windowless mall buildings into pleasant mixed-use
neighborhoods, architects and urban theorists
describe such projects as an opportunity to bring
walkable urbanism to the suburbs, as well as alleviate
housing shortages.
" It's an evolution of the live/work/play or town
center concept, " says Caitlin Sugrue Walter, vice
president of research for the National Multifamily
Housing Council. " It's a win/win situation: more units
are built, which will improve affordability, and those
residents will provide spending power for the local
businesses. "
Why Retail-to-Residential Is Rising
Retail-to-residential conversions are not new. Kimco
first got interested in them eight to 10 years ago,
COURTESY OF GENSLER
2023 Spring Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2023 Spring Issue
