Amid all the retail glitz, however, a more mundane type of shopping experience is making a strong comeback. "Supermarket-anchored centers. It's the most popular choice," says Beth Azor, president and CEO of Terranova Corp., a Miami-based commercial real estate firm.
Neighborhoods revolve around supermarket centers, which come in a variety of shapes and sizes. There are small strip centers reminiscent of the 1960s with a Publix or Winn-Dixie and 20,000 square feet to 40,000 square feet of additional space for small retailers or local service businesses, such as copy centers and insurance agencies. Then there are larger strip centers with a supermarket and another anchor, such as a Beall's department store or an outlet. And finally there's a new breed of retail power center: a supermarket joined by several "big box" retailers, each in individual buildings.
Retailers are trying to capitalize on consumer demand for convenience and safety. In St. Petersburg, for example, much of Gateway Mall, developed in the 1960s, has been torn down to make way for a free-standing Target, TJMaxx and a host of restaurants. Customers will park adjacent to retailers' entrances, not in a vast parking lot. Publix, one of the mall's original anchors, will remain, but will build a new store.
Azor says there's a financial explanation for the trend, also. Pension funds and life insurance companies, two of the most active real estate investment groups right now, are sold on neighborhood supermarket centers. As with any real estate venture, location is key because financiers' prime concern is their ability to sell the centers easily and for a profit.
Industry News
- "Florida's Workforce 2005," a report released last summer by the Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security, projects that 290,074 jobs will be added in retail trade from 1995 to 2005. Jobs for cashiers are expected to grow by 46,700, retail salespeople by 44,200 and sales supervisors by 32,500. The retail industry employs 1.3 million Floridians, almost 20% of the state's workforce.
- Belz Enterprises is developing Festival Bay, a 1.1 million-sq.-ft. entertainment/retail complex on International Drive in Orlando. The center will include a 162,000-sq.-ft. Bass Pro Shops-Outdoor World and a 20-screen Cinemark USA mega-plex theater. In St. Augustine, Belz expects to open Phase I of its 252,000-sq.-ft. factory outlet mall next summer.
- Despite opposition by residents and business owners concerned about traffic snarls, Coral Gables city commissioners gave preliminary approval in November for the Rouse Co.'s $275 million Village of Merrick Park, an 800,000-sq.-ft. fashion center that will include Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, theaters and townhouses.
- Destin's Silver Sands Factory Stores will expand from 370,000 square feet to 500,000 square feet next May when it opens 15 to 20 new stores, a 10- to 14-screen theater complex and new management offices. The center, developed by the Howard Group, currently has 102 retailers.
- Dolphin Mall, a 1.4 million-sq.-ft. outlet mall and amusement park, will open late this year in western Miami-Dade County. The Codina Group and Michael Swerdlow Cos. are developing the property, which will compete head-to-head with Broward County's Sawgrass Mills, which is one of Florida's largest tourist attractions.
- The Florida Retail Federation, encouraged by the revenue-generating power of last year's one-week reprieve from sales tax on clothes, will lobby the Florida Legislature to repeat the program again this year, with a few changes. Bill Rustin, president and CEO of the retail federation, says proposals include holding the tax-free week earlier in August, raising the sales limit to $100 from $50 and eliminating the tax on other types of clothing in addition to every-day apparel.
- In October 2000, CityPlace Partners in West Palm Beach will open more than 530,000 square feet of retail space, including Barnes & Noble, FAO Schwartz and Restoration Hardware, an 80,000-sq.-ft., 13-screen General Cinema, 100,000 square feet of restaurants and residential apartments, condos and townhouses. Three 200,000-sq.-ft. office towers and a hotel will open later.
- Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group is expanding and adding a variety of projects in Florida. They include:
The Shops at Sunset Place in South Miami, opening this month, is a three-level entertainment/retail center with 69 tenants, including NikeTown, Virgin Megastore and GameWorks, in 502,000 square feet.
Waterford Lakes Town Center, a 1.1 million sq.-ft. open-air retail, dining and entertainment complex presently under development in Orlando, will open its 600,000-sq.-ft. Phase 1 in December 1999. Overall, the center will have 17 anchor tenants, specialty shops, a 22-screen Regal Cinema and up to 10 restaurants.
At the Town Center in Boca Raton, Sak's Fifth Avenue will double the size of its store by late this year. Town Center will build a new 94,000-sq.-ft. wing, adding Florida's first Nordstrom department store, in 2000.
Palm Beach Mall in West Palm Beach is undergoing a major renovation and will add a Dillard's department store.
- With a few exceptions such as Old Navy and Abercrombie & Fitch, the hottest specialty stores focus on lifestyle, not clothing. In Florida, General Nutrition and trendy kitchen-products retailer Williams-Sonoma are thriving, along with stores that sell pet products and even soccer gear. "The boomers and the greys don't need a lot of apparel," says Cynthia Cohen, president of Strategic Mindshare, a Miami retail consulting firm.
- The Mills Corp., developer of Broward County's giant 2.3 million-sq.-ft. Sawgrass Mills outlet mall, is searching for a site to build a similar, but smaller, mall in the Tampa Bay region. Arlington, Va.-based Mills Corp. expects to open the new mall sometime after the year 2000.