Fashion show mall

Innovation now showing at the mall - Editorial

Two very different shopping centers, which debuted out West this month, reflect several key trends in retail development and offer a glimpse as to the direction of future projects.

The two developments may be very different in design, in location and in tenant mix, yet they share similar challenges of driving traffic and entertaining shoppers.

CityPlace, a multi-purpose urban development spanning eight blocks in the heart of downtown Long Beach, Calif., reflects value retailing targeted to middle-class residents of the state's fifth-largest city. In addition, CityPlace will also target a piece of the seven million tourists that the aquarium, Queen Mary and 350 conventions and events lure annually. Created by Developers Diversified Realty (DDR), this stylish open urban development, which replaced an enclosed mall, also includes almost 350 residential rental apartments and condominiums. Wal-Mart's newest discount store in California is the primary anchor and exemplifies a retailer's flexibility in site selection and in design. (See photo page 4.)

The opposite of CityPlace is the newest addition to the Fashion Show on the Strip in Las Vegas, which reflects the glitter and glitz of an upscale destination mall catering predominantly to the hoards of tourists that flock to this gambling mecca. In addition, Fashion Show will target a greater share of the burgeoning local market with its more than 250 stores. Developed by The Rouse Company, the 20-year-old Fashion Show is in the midst of a $1 billion four-year renovation that more than doubled the size to almost two million square feet. The first phase of the center opened earlier this month with the entire project scheduled for completion in October 2003. It is touted as being the only shopping center in the country with eight department store anchors--previous tenants Neiman-Marcus, Saks, Macy's, Dillard's, Robinsons-May and new additions Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, Home, and soon-to-open Lord & Taylor. It is estimated by Rouse that these eight retailers collectively will generate $1 billion in annual sal es and the entire facility will eventually become the highest-volume retail center in the United States.

Among the key trends that these two centers have exploited are:

* Value. More and more developers are turning to mass retailers versus traditional department stores to serve as for anchors. This is the case such of CityPlace, where Wal-Mart is the featured tenant along with Nordstrom Rack and Ross. In addition, consistent with the focus on value and convenience for its local residents, Say-On Drugs and Albertson's are also anchors.

* Downtown development. As urban areas continue to be revitalized, mixed-use strip centers with housing, like CityPlace, will continue to be developed. In addition, DDR is also developing an entertainment-style complex similar to Navy Pier in Chicago. A few blocks from CityPlace near the Long Beach Harbor, called the Pike, it is scheduled for completion in October 2003.

* Destination. The Fashion Show mall is clearly a tourist destination and attraction that will compete with other hotels and casinos for traffic and consumer dollars. It will eventually be connected by walkways to the Treasure Island on one side and a new Le Reve Casino on the other.

* Entertainment. There's no doubt how important entertainment has become for shopping centers as an attraction. Fashion Show has added a new dimension with an events facility that includes a live performance retractable runway and stage with state-of the art audio/visual technology that enables broadcast throughout the mall, a ballroom and full kitchen facilities.

* Services. In the spirit of Las Vegas, where concierge has brought new meaning to service, Fashion Show features five concierge stations that offer amenities from valet parking to business services.

* Design. CityPlace displays a stylish downtown residential look with brick accents and palm trees that beckon shoppers to stroll along the eight-block center. On the other extreme, Fashion Show has purposely borrowed some of the dramatic flair of its neighboring casinos with "The Cloud." It will be a 500-foot long canopy towering 20 stories high, providing an overhang for the 72,000-square-foot entrance plaza. It will also incorporate four huge LED screens capable of broadcasting events from inside the mall or other remote sights.

These two contemporary developments, albeit very different in some ways, both represent key retail trends that will continue to emerge throughout the decade.