The national beauty chain plans to open its new 10,800-square-foot superstore during the fall of 2010. "The opening of this new store is an indication that the worst is behind us and that we'll start seeing more openings in the near future," Ed Walters, founder and partner of the Walters Group, tells GlobeSt.com. "Sales have been very strong for all the retailers at Stafford Park. The tenant mix fills a clear void in this submarket for certain retailers."

Located off of exit 63, at the southwest corner of the Garden State Parkway and Route 72 interchange, the Stafford Park redevelopment is rising on the site of a former landfill in the New Jersey Pinelands. All construction is expected to meet LEED standards, and the retail portion of Stafford Park is registered with a certification goal of LEED Silver. In addition, the Walters Group opened Stafford Park Apartments, an affordable housing development consisting of 112 energy-efficient units in five mid-rise buildings. The concept design for the entire redevelopment also integrates residential and office space with a number of municipal facilities.

There is going to continue to be a real push toward developing projects that lower the communities' carbon footprint, Walters tells GlobeSt.com. As for the recession, he predicts that as the recovery takes hold, stronger companies with increased market share will once again enter a period of expansion--hiring new employees, opening new locations and leasing new space. Walters is also bullish on the lending environment. "Lending money happens to be the business banks are in--they have no other way to make money--so it is only a matter of time before banks will be competing as fiercely as they have in the past in order to do deals."