2023 Spring Issue - 36

developments
to sustainability, resilience, health,
social equity, and housing attainability,
municipalities can use
zoning to set the stage for accelerated
public- and private-sector
investment in development projects
that advance essential community
objectives.
MATT NORRIS is a senior director with the ULI
Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability. EMILY ZHANG
and BEN FORMAN, ULI senior associates, also contributed
to this article.
ULI Report: Why
Retail Location Is Not
Everything
There is perhaps no more famous
adage in the retail business than
" location is everything. " But is it?
According to the new ULI report
Successful Retail: How 14 Shopping
Centers Are Thriving Today, in a
post-pandemic retail world, location
is an important driver of success-
arguably the key driver-but it is
not the be-all and end-all.
It also is important to define
location. The report points out that
location encompasses a range of
qualities that go beyond geographic
coordinates. The property's visibility
and access, the area demographics,
and the competition in the
area, if any, all play a role in what
is meant by location.
ULI delved into the threads
connecting shopping centers that
are finding success and what the
industry can learn from them.
Despite the wide range in size, age,
and geographic location among the
shopping centers studied, some
key factors stood out in the 14 case
studies presented.
Beyond location, more is better,
the study concluded: more road
traffic, more visibility, more shoppers
living close by-and even
more competition-can help draw
36
URBAN LAND
customers to a shopping center.
" All of these can raise the odds of
success for a retail project on a particular
site, " the report says.
However, even if a shopping
center is in the most desirable location
possible, it does not guarantee
success. Many retail centers built in
premier locations have failed, even
when located close to centers that
were already successful.
On the flip side, projects built in
seemingly unproven locations have
done very well-such as Freedom
Plaza in Los Angeles and Kierland
Commons in Scottsdale, Arizona.
For Freedom Plaza, though the
demographics looked challenging,
residential density nearby proved
to be a key factor, whereas for
Kierland Commons, it was the only
center in a developing area where
other developments soon followed,
helping it become a key retail shopping
location.
The Right Mix
The size of a shopping center
does not necessarily determine
its success either. Three centers
studied in the report-Glendale
Marketplace in Glendale, California;
Shops at Boca Center
in Boca Raton, Florida; and
Brentwood Place in St. Louis-
are on the smaller side but are
garnering shopper traffic at
least in part because of how
close they are to much larger
shopping malls. The malls are
a shopping destination for the
region, which has the effect of
increasing the market draw even
while increasing the number of
competitors nearby.
Another important component
for a successful retail center is its
lineup of tenants. While it might
seem relatively straightforward to
aim for the most popular brand
names and the trendiest concepts,
SPRING 2023
Beyond location, more is
better, the study concluded:
more road traffic, more
visibility, more shoppers
living close by-even more
competition-help draw
customers to a shopping
center. " All of these can raise
the odds of success for a retail
project on a particular site, "
the report says.
taking a more thoughtful approach
can make a big difference.
" Getting the right mix depends
on understanding not only what
shoppers will appreciate, but also
what uses and retailers fit best with
the location and the retail center's
vibe, " the report says. That might
mean including local or regional
retailers instead of focusing just on
national tenants, as well as making
sure to align retail tenants with
local demographics.
Branding is another important
element of what has made the
retail shopping centers profiled in
the report successful. Among the
centers in the report, several have
distinct offerings in their markets
that have endured over decades.
Other, newer centers achieved
rapid success by creating a distinctive
brand, focusing on certain
kinds of retailers, such as small,
entrepreneurial brands, or by creating
miniature districts that combine
historic buildings with new construction.
While
a lot goes into what makes
a successful shopping center, many
of those interviewed for the report
emphasized the importance of
taking steps to maintain that success
for the long term. Among the
most important steps is to engage
the community near the retail property
on the center's design, how
it is built, and how it is operated.
" We have a very, very long-term
view, " said one developer. " And
we think we need to be part of the
community-not someone that's
just coming in and making some
money and exiting. "
HOLLY DUTTON is a Brooklyn-based journalist who
has reported on real estate for more than 10 years.
Remembering
Architect Gene Kohn
A. Eugene " Gene " Kohn, a founding
member of the global architecture
firm Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) and
a ULI Life Trustee, has died at 92
after a yearlong battle with cancer.
The New York-based architect
helped launch KPF in the mid-1970s
and, along with his partners William
Pedersen and Sheldon Fox,
developed the firm into an international
architectural powerhouse
over the following decades.
During his long tenure with KPF,
the firm designed some of the most
famous projects and skyscrapers
in the world, including New York
City's Hudson Yards development;
the World Bank headquarters in
Washington, D.C.; 333 Wacker
Drive in Chicago; London's Covent
Garden; the Shanghai World
Financial Center; Hong Kong's International
Commerce Centre; and
most recently, the Manhattan office
tower One Vanderbilt. The firm has
designed more than 250 towers
around the globe, including buildings
that rank among the world's
tallest, according to the New York
Times.
Kohn taught at Columbia University
and Harvard University
2023 Spring Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2023 Spring Issue
