Everyone's on Board at ICSC 2015

CHICAGO—The mood among retail professionals at the latest Chicago Deal Making conference, held yesterday and today at Navy Pier by the International Council of Shopping Centers, has been quite upbeat.

“People are starting to feel like we’ve returned to the days before the recession,” Larry Kilduff, JLL’s senior vice president, retail market lead, Midwest, tells GlobeSt.com. Everything seems to be moving in the right direction, including rental rates, leasing, development and acquisitions, and for the first time in years, it’s happening across the board. “There is a sense of pent-up demand.” Except for high street locations and in core markets, “it’s been hard to see that energy until now.”