Poag and others spoke yesterday on a panel titled "Lifestyle Centers - Past, Present and Future," during the International Council of Shopping Centers' Spring Convention here. He and other developers discussed the trends that influence the projects, as well as what works and what doesn't.

The traditional lifestyle center as defined by ICSC is between 150,000 sf and 500,000 sf. They are open-air, usually in upscale locations and have many of the same fashion and restaurant tenants, such as J. Crew, Gymboree, and P.F. Chang's. But the definition and parameters are becoming more fluid as developers build more of these centers and shoppers get to know them, panelists say.

"You need to be as authentic as you can when you put these things together," says J. Thomas Porter, principal of Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Assoc., of Atlanta. "Customers are more particular today."