Open-Air Centers Evolving

HOLLYWOOD, FL-Open-air centers are by far the largest retail property type and are growing more rapidly than enclosed malls, which are only opening at a handful per year. These retail centers are also going through a lot of changes, said speakers yesterday at the International Council of Shopping Centers’ Conference on Open-Air Centers at the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa.

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.