Recent Articles

• In Brief: Growth in Online Grocery Sales Expected to Increase Demand for U.S. Cold-Storage Warehouse Space

  April 2, 2018

  The growing popularity of online grocery shopping could result in demand for up to 35 million square feet (3.25 million sq m) of U.S. cold-storage space shifting from retail stores to warehouses and distribution centers within the next seven years, according to a report from CBRE.

• As Asia’s Malls Survive, Rethinking an “Urban Village” Approach to Retailing

  March 15, 2018

  E-commerce has finally arrived in Singapore in a big way. Amazon has appeared on the island’s shores, joining local etailers like Zalora and RedMart, and with meal delivery apps such as Deliveroo, FoodPanda, and UberEats, restaurant-grade food can come straight to your door. Nonetheless, the pipeline for brick-and-mortar retail remains strong, with a total of 509,000 square meters (5.5 million sq ft) of retail space of projects in the pipeline.

• Urbanizing the Town Center of Columbia, Maryland

  March 12, 2018

  James Rouse’s visionary development is 50 years old. The process of urbanizing its town center may create a model for other suburban developments.

• Encouraging Aspiring Developers to Think Both Big and Small

  Speaking at a ULI Minnesota event, Kevin Cavenaugh, owner of Portland-based Guerrilla Development, said bigger is not necessarily better, and oftentimes it is worse, in terms of the complexity and risk.

• What U.S. Cities Are Learning from Cincinnati’s Downtown Revival

  December 19, 2017

  Since 2004, over $1 billion has been invested in redevelopment and new construction in downtown Cincinnati and the adjacent Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Representatives from Erie, Pennsylvania; St. Louis; and Atlanta have visited the city in the last year to see how a combination of nonprofit redevelopment, historic preservation, land banking, and strategic acquisitions, funded by tax credits and corporate investments, have turned things around.

• How Amazon’s Moves Could Affect Cities Like Austin

  December 18, 2017

  The highly coveted second corporate headquarters of e-commerce giant Amazon.com would be a welcome addition to Austin, but the $5 billion project undoubtedly would produce more housing and transportation woes in one of the fastest-growing regions of the United States, said panelists at a ULI Austin event.

• Retailers Focusing on Customer Experience with an Eye on E-commerce

  December 11, 2017

  With e-commerce’s stake in U.S. retail at less than 10 percent, suggestions of a “retail apocalypse” of brick-and-mortar stores is greatly exaggerated, panelists said during a ULI North Texas event on the retail sector. Still, panelists at an event in Dallas said the industry has to find new ways to reinvent itself and connect with customers in order to thrive.

• In Brief: London’s New Bond Street Ranked Third Most Expensive for Retail Rents

  November 29, 2017

  Soaring rents have seen London’s New Bond Street rise to become the world’s third most expensive retail street, according to a report by Cushman & Wakefield. The annual Main Streets Across The World report, now in its 29th edition, tracks 451 of the top retail streets around the globe and ranks the most expensive in 68 countries by prime rental value using proprietary data.

• Dining and Other Amenities Boosting the Modern Shopping Center

  November 17, 2017

  Trading Up: Dining, Leisure, Amenities, and the New Shopping Centre is the second report from the ULI Retail and Entertainment Council to look at the role that food and beverage (F&B) and leisure have in supporting shopping centers as they adapt to retail sales moving online. This year, the research extends that topic to consider how the addition of community amenities is also emerging among shopping center owners.