First there were malls, then outlet malls. Then came power centers followed by lifestyle and town centers. Now there is a new type: "Hybrid centers" or "power towns"
"After a few years of the development pipeline being dominated by smaller players putting up lifestyle centers (which tend to be only 500,000 square feet or less), the emergence of the hybrid format is enabling the largest players to once again set the tone for the industry. According to Friedman, Billings, Ramsey REIT analyst Paul Morgan, 16 of the 37 major mall projects opening in 2004 and 2005 are hybrid centers the most of any category.
...The rise of hybrid centers also reflects the diminishing importance of department stores in the mall retail mix. It is no coincidence that developers are branching out just as the department store sector is going through a shakeout. The merger of Kmart and Sears was the first step. The rumored Federated and May merger would be another blow. For Lou Taylor, REIT analyst at Deutsche Bank, hybrid centers typify 'an evolution in mall retail' as properties morph into bigger open-air regional centers."
Thanks to Chris Steins
Read the full story: Mixing It Up
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment
The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.
Mass. votes against statewide minimum lot size for single-family homes
Over 2 million residents voted on Question 7; it was decided by just over 30,000 votes.
Maryland’s $15 billion bridge project gains key approval
The Maryland Transit Authority said the project will create over 60,000 jobs and add $23 billion to the local economy.
‘No clear next steps’ for Chicago's permanent festival grounds
Eleventh Ward Ald. Nicole Lee has suggested Soldier Field as a possible location for the permanent event space.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority