There are 47,000 open-air centers in the United States, compared to 1,100 enclosed malls, according to ICSC research. Power centers, which count home-improvement, electronics and other big boxes as anchors, accounted for 43% of the new gross leaseable area that came onto the market during the first 10 months of last year.

The industry name for open-air centers used to be "strip" centers, but now, with lifestyle, power and mixed-use property types popping up throughout the years, that term has changed, said Michael Kercheval, ICSC's president and CEO. "Clearly, now the image has been updated," he said.

New tenants, such as department stores like J.C. Penney, are choosing these developments instead of malls for many of their new stores. And the evolution of grocery stores into national high-end chains like Whole Foods, has made the tenancy in many open-air centers more luxurious.