Recent Articles

• Craft Breweries Bring Placemaking and Economic Development to St. Louis Neighborhoods

  June 5, 2017

  There was a time before Prohibition when St. Louis had more than 40 breweries. By the 1980s, however, that number had dwindled to just two. Today, experts speaking at a ULI panel said St. Louis’s smaller brewery scene is again thriving, with 50 separate breweries operating locally.

• Legalized Marijuana Sector Creates Opportunity, Special Requirements

  May 12, 2017

  Commercialized marijuana is big business and is expanding as a new asset class at an astronomical rate, according to a ULI Spring Meeting panel of industry investors, operators, and legal experts on the state of the cannabis business and real estate opportunities being created in the sector. Twenty-eight states have legalized the sale of medical marijuana, and eight states plus the District of Columbia allow recreational marijuana to some degree.

• More Food Choices, Higher-End Offerings Help Reboot Retail for a Digital Age

  May 10, 2017

  Contrary to some predictions, e-commerce has not made brick-and-mortar retail a thing of the past. Instead, as attendees at a ULI Spring Meeting session learned, shopping and dining are making critical contributions to activating urban spaces and helping shopping centers continuously evolve.

• Four Trends Driving the Shifting Demand for Traditional Bank Branches

  May 1, 2017

  According to JLL’s 2017 Banking Outlook, increased use of mobile banking could decrease the need for traditional bank branches by 20 percent in the next five years, although some underserved markets are still seeing new construction.

• How Innovative Retailers Stay Ahead of What Customers Want

  April 26, 2017

  A recent ULI Northwest event featured presentations and panel discussion on what it will take to bring the next generation of shoppers into retail locations. Starbucks and Nordstrom executives presented insights on how their businesses are evolving.

• ULI Case Study: Chophouse Row—Seattle

  April 3, 2017

  Completed in spring 2015, Chophouse Row is a 44,000-square-foot (4,000 sq m) mixed-use project in the Pike-Pine neighborhood of Seattle, less than one mile (1.6 km) from downtown, that combines loft office space, retail space, and three apartments. The development combines a circa-1924 industrial building with a new seven-story office tower, a through-block pedestrian alley/mews, and a midblock courtyard that links Chophouse Row with the developer’s other properties on the block, collectively known as 12th Avenue Marketplace.

• Four Trends Driving the Evolution of Grocery Stores

  March 21, 2017

  Last year was above average for U.S. grocery store openings as they anchored developments ranging from apartments to malls to even some hotel concepts. Here are four trends driving changes in the modern grocery store concept, based on JLL’s recent Grocery Tracker, including scan-and-go payment apps and more prepared meals.

• Six Trends Driving Changes in U.S. Retail

  February 24, 2017

  The holiday season and beginning of the new year brought some bright spots, but also some cause for concern in the retail sector, which, in turn, affects commercial real estate. For example, some household names announced store closures in recent months, while other sectors of the retail world have survived, thrived, and even expanded.

• ULI Europe: Shoppers Want Food, Beverage, and Leisure

  January 23, 2017

  A new report from ULI Europe and JLL finds that food and beverage (F&B) and leisure offerings are essential to the success and future competitiveness of shopping centers. The report finds that retail sales in a sample of shopping centers analyzed for the study increased by 6.2 percent in the previous 12 months with the addition of leisure and F&B, with retail sales per square meter growing by 1.2 percent over the same period.