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Public Officials Bring It Home

Many city and county officials feel that attending ICSC sends a powerful message to retailers and developers. "Going to ICSC really reflects an image of Arlington Heights as a great place to do business," says Charles Perkins, Director of Planning andCommunity Development for Arlington Heights, IL, a suburb of Chicago. "It's extremely important for Arlington Heights to be proactive with business attraction and retention. Attending the show and providing face time with retailers and developers is of utmost importance.

By Jennifer D. Duell | Updated on May 16, 2006

Mayor John Robert Smith has made the trip to Las Vegas from his hometown of Meridian, MS to attend ICSC for more than 15 years. He was one of the first “public sector” representatives to attend the show, which has now become a must-attend event for mayors and economic development directors. Today, hundreds of cities and counties have booths at the huge event, and thousands of government officials pound the show floor along with real estate professionals from around the world.

“We were trying to get a regional shopping mall in our city, and we decided that we needed to go to where the developers congregated,” Smith explains to GSR. With a population of 72,000 people and a regional draw of 350,000 people, Meridian had some impressive demographics to share at the show. “We went from booth to booth telling developers that we would work a deal if they would agree to build a mall in Meridian,” he recalls.

By attending ICSC, Smith and the City of Meridian was able to interest 11 developers. Six developers visited the city, three competed for the deal, and Chattanooga, TN-based CBL & Associates Properties Inc. won the opportunity to develop a regional mall. The City of Meridian offered tax increment financing to the REIT, which opened Bonita Lakes Mall in October 1997.

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