From the Orlando Business Journal
In case you hadn’t noticed, the Sunshine State is in the midst of a love affair with the retail real estate market.
That’s according to a new retail report unveiled on Aug. 31 by JLL President of Retail Brokerage Naveen Jaggi during the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Florida Conference at the Orange County Convention Center.
Now that the Great Recession is well behind us, retailers are aggressively hunting for sites again and developers are reworking plans pulled off dusty shelves to bring more shopping and dining options to some of Florida’s most active metro areas.
Not only does that make the state more attractive to top talent, helping major employers retain and recruit, it also helps generate temporary construction jobs and permanent service industry jobs.
Sidelines to scaffolding: Retail vacancy rates are down, ranging from an “ultra-low” 3.3 percent in the Miami region to 6.5 percent in Orlando. So, with retail space scarce, developments that have been on the sidelines for a decade or so are finally starting to move dirt.
Sense of place: It’s obviously important that people come to buy things at shopping centers, but more new developments are offering entertainment, leisure and other options to keep people on property for longer. The bigger focus for new developments is to create an experience surrounded by shopping and dining options.
Urban or bust: The concept of walkable, urban living has been exploding nationwide, and the Sunshine State has seen that expand beyond downtown areas into even suburban communities. So, even new retail projects include a live-work-play concept, which appeals especially to millennials — 86 percent of which expect to live in urban areas at least until they are 33.
Reshaped retailers: With the new live-work-play concepts dominating the new development marketplace, retail concepts have revamped their store formats to capture those shoppers. Examples include Forever 21’s new F21 Red concept, which focuses more on the family than the retailer’s traditional pre-teen to young adult demographic.
Size matters: Mega-stores are so last season, as many publicly traded and even privately held retailers have either reduced their store sizes for new developments or come up with small-shop concepts to shrink overhead and drive up sales per square foot, a big indicator of retail success.
See the full JLL 2015 Florida Retail Report and find out more of what’s happening at the ICSC Florida Conference by following @ICSC or the hashtag #FLConf on Twitter.
In case you hadn’t noticed, the Sunshine State is in the midst of a love affair with the retail real estate market.
That’s according to a new retail report unveiled on Aug. 31 by JLL President of Retail Brokerage Naveen Jaggi during the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Florida Conference at the Orange County Convention Center.
Now that the Great Recession is well behind us, retailers are aggressively hunting for sites again and developers are reworking plans pulled off dusty shelves to bring more shopping and dining options to some of Florida’s most active metro areas.
Not only does that make the state more attractive to top talent, helping major employers retain and recruit, it also helps generate temporary construction jobs and permanent service industry jobs.
Sidelines to scaffolding: Retail vacancy rates are down, ranging from an “ultra-low” 3.3 percent in the Miami region to 6.5 percent in Orlando. So, with retail space scarce, developments that have been on the sidelines for a decade or so are finally starting to move dirt.
Sense of place: It’s obviously important that people come to buy things at shopping centers, but more new developments are offering entertainment, leisure and other options to keep people on property for longer. The bigger focus for new developments is to create an experience surrounded by shopping and dining options.
Urban or bust: The concept of walkable, urban living has been exploding nationwide, and the Sunshine State has seen that expand beyond downtown areas into even suburban communities. So, even new retail projects include a live-work-play concept, which appeals especially to millennials — 86 percent of which expect to live in urban areas at least until they are 33.
Reshaped retailers: With the new live-work-play concepts dominating the new development marketplace, retail concepts have revamped their store formats to capture those shoppers. Examples include Forever 21’s new F21 Red concept, which focuses more on the family than the retailer’s traditional pre-teen to young adult demographic.
Size matters: Mega-stores are so last season, as many publicly traded and even privately held retailers have either reduced their store sizes for new developments or come up with small-shop concepts to shrink overhead and drive up sales per square foot, a big indicator of retail success.
See the full JLL 2015 Florida Retail Report and find out more of what’s happening at the ICSC Florida Conference by following @ICSC or the hashtag #FLConf on Twitter.