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Page 26 — Retail Properties Quarterly — August 2018 www.crej.com READ THE NEXT EDITION: Thursday, May 17 RESERVE YOUR SPACE BY: Wednesday, April 27 AD SIZES: Quarter Page $XXX Half Page $XXX Full Page $XXX Full Color $200 Additional Frequency Discounts Available. While the Colorado Real Estate Journal continues to run a retail news section in each issue of the newspaper, Retail Properties Quarterly features the most interesting projects and people, trends and analysis, and covers development, investment, leasing, finance, design, construction and management. The publication is mailed with the Colorado Real Estate Journal newspaper, a 4,000-plus distribution that includes developers, investors, brokers, lenders, contractors, architects and property managers. Fitness concepts increase retail competition herearemergers, including 24Hour Bally September 2015 Photo courtesy:Wellbridge itsTaborCenter (above) andWelton Street facilities.  Market Reports  Development & Investment Updates  Design & Construction Trends  Capital Markets  Legal Updates  and more ADVERTISING Lori Golightly | 303-623-1148 x102 | lgolightly@crej.com SUBMIT EXPERT ARTICLES Michelle Askeland | 303-623-1148 | maskeland@crej.com MEDIA KIT & SAMPLES crej.com/RetailProperties Wednesday, November 7 October 17 395 595 995 Retail Trends their names have done so as part of a rebranding effort or redevelopment project. For example, when Alberta Development Partners acquired Foothills, a Fort Collins property, the enclosed mall was known as the Foothills Fashion Mall, while the previous owner had delineated and separately branded two areas outside the enclosed mall asThe Shoppes at Foothills Mall andThe Plaza at Foot- hills Mall. “We rebranded and simplified the name to just ‘Foothills’ since we elimi- nated 60 percent of the interior mall space and added a significant amount of exterior shop space,” said Bryan McFarland, principal of development with Alberta Development Partners. “Today, approximately 50 percent of the [gross leasable area] is interior mall space with the remainder exte- rior.” As consumer habits change, there is an impression that malls should be evolving too.With this connota- tion, there’s the idea that “if they’re standing still, then they’re becoming obsolete,” said Jason Schmidt, execu- tive vice president with JLL Capital Markets. A reflection on Colorado’s malls seems to support this. If we go back to the 1990s, the diversity of tradi- tional malls in Colorado certainly has changed.We’ve seen the closure of many traditional malls, including CrossRoads Mall in Boulder, Centen- nial Mall in Craig, Cinderella City Mall in Englewood,Tamarac Square and Tiffany Plaza in Denver, NorthValley Mall inThornton, Southglenn Mall in Centennial, Southlands Mall in Aurora, Twin Peaks Mall in Longmont,Villa Ita- lia Mall in Lakewood andWestminster Mall. However, many of these centers have been redeveloped into new shopping centers – now called town centers, lifestyle centers, mixed-use projects or entertainment districts – because retail real estate still rep- resents some of the best locations in most markets. “A well-located mall will evolve into more of an entertainment-type loca- tion, where others might evolve into medical or event space or something else,” Schmidt said. “I don’t think we’re experiencing it as much in Colorado – but people are trying to show that they’re evolving their space and their experience. A natural way would be to move away from the word ‘mall.’ ” However a space is branded, includ- ing the word in the name doesn’t seem to hurt an asset, Schmidt said. What matters to investors is tenant credit, performance, longevity of ten- ants, etc.What matters to a tenant is co-tenancy, demographics, visibility and those real estate 101-type factors. “I don’t think the word ‘mall,’ espe- cially frommy experience, is going to negatively affect either a tenant’s desirability of a space or the sale of the asset,” he said. McFarland, with Foothills, agrees. “The change in name at that time had nothing to do with any negative con- notation with ‘mall,’ ” he said.There was no impact to tenants or investors due to the name change. The International Council of Shop- ping Centers said it doesn’t have the data to address a shift away from using the word “mall”; however, it sees the current evolution of retail as a positive. “Brick-and-mortar stores aren’t going anywhere, and we’re excited about the evolution of the industry,” said Stephanie Cegielski, vice presi- dent of public relations, ICSC. “The net number of malls for the past five years is a net positive, meaning that more malls have opened than have closed. Also, occupancy rates overall remain high at about 93 percent, which means that malls are in a healthy state.The mix of tenants at a shopping center might look different than 20 years ago, but that doesn’t mean that a center isn’t thriving. Consumers are demand- ing more experience and centers are responding with more food and bever- age and entertainment options. Retail- ers are also integrating technology into their store to appeal to shoppers who want a more digital experience.” Greeley Mall, with 43 years of expe- rience, serves as a prime example. “Greeley Mall is much more than a place for shopping; it’s a community destination,” said Sandra Dee French, corporate marketing manager with Greeley Mall.The mall offers shop- pers a variety of holiday programs, entertainment venues, pop-up/virtual shops, product demonstrations, back- to-school programs, kids club/play areas, mall walkers, fashion shows, kid-friendly expos and food court- themed games. It also offers nonprofit organizations and groups the use of its community room to hold meetings and other community-based pro- grams. “All of these activities are geared toward building relationships and creating social experiences that bring people together,” said French. It’s interesting to note that some of the metro’s busiest enclosed shop- ping centers never used the termmall. For example, Cherry Creek Shopping Center has never had the word mall in its formal title and neither has Park Meadows, which was originally called Park MeadowsTown Center “Colo- rado’s Only Retail Resort.” “Park Meadows was developed and built to be a retail resort and experi- ential from the day it opened,” said Pamela Schenck Kelly, senior general manager with Park Meadows.Twenty- two years later, the center has never had a full renovation. Regardless of what word is used in a formal name, retailers that are embracing consumer changes are thriving. Denver is operating at a frac- tion of the new construction in the past 35 years and the fundamentals are as strong as they’ve ever been, including lease and vacancy rates, Schmidt said. “People don’t go to the mall anymore to browse and look at what’s new in that mall,” he said. “They go for the sense of place and sense of commu- nity and entertainment – and there’s still reason to go to those location, but those locations are going to have to change the use and tenancy in order to continue to draw people in.” ▲ Continued from Page 1 Greeley Mall Greeley Mall defines itself as a community destination, rather than simply a place for shopping.