When it debuted, in 1988, Fashion Mall, Plantation, Fla., was your typical anchor-driven retail leviathan. When it closed, in 2006, Fashion Mall was typical of huge shopping centers' fall from grace with many customers. Its prospects for resurrection, though, brightened last year, when Encore Capital Management acquired the property and announced plans to spend $300 million to turn it into Plantation’s new town square, dubbed 321 North.
TOP 90 RETAIL ARCHITECTURE FIRMS
Rank, Firm, 2015 Revenue
1. CallisonRTKL $205,964,000
2. Gensler $129,680,000
3. GreenbergFarrow $49,719,540
4. MG2 $45,652,293
5. Stantec $39,933,013
6. FRCH Design Worldwide $38,017,500
7. WD Partners $38,000,000
8. MBH Architects $28,126,062
9. NORR $20,326,054
10. P+R Architects $20,000,000
TOP 80 RETAIL CONSTRUCTION FIRMS
Rank, Firm, 2015 Revenue
1. VCC $574,787,663
2. PCL Construction Enterprises $556,581,503
3. Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., The $553,062,362
4. Shawmut Design and Construction $349,000,000
5. EMJ Corp. $287,137,603
6. Hoar Construction $235,377,000
7. dck worldwide $204,462,000
8. Turner Construction Co. $195,934,217
9. Beck Group, The $185,064,042
10. W.E. O’Neil Construction Co. $174,093,120
TOP 50 RETAIL ENGINEERING FIRMS
Rank, Firm, 2015 Revenue
1. Jacobs $167,960,000
2. Henderson Engineers $50,149,210
3. WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff $33,622,000
4. Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates $21,580,000
5. Core States Group $13,874,811
6. KLH Engineers $9,139,313
7. Wallace Engineering $8,200,000
8. Arup $7,105,331
9. Shive-Hattery $6,168,437
10. Highland Associates $5,900,000
Encore will bulldoze most of the mall, leave a nearby hotel and parking garage standing, and construct a 100,000-sf office tower, two apartment buildings totaling 700 units, and 73,000 sf of new retail space.
In its latest Retail Investment Forecast, Marcus & Millichap singles out the enhanced value of malls that can be repositioned as “lifestyle centers.” For instance, A/E firm NORR is working on a 300,000-sf project in Detroit that will include 25,000 sf of retail, fast-casual restaurants, a hotel, and apartments, says NORR VP Anthony Ricciuti, RA, OAA, NCARB.
Developers see malls as “part of a cocktail that creates a destination,” says Matt Billerbeck, AIA, SVP in CallisonRTKL’s Seattle office. His firm’s “Mall of the Future” report describes successful malls as walkable, transit accessible, anchored by food and experience, mixed use in nature, and connected to shoppers via smartphone and Internet-of-Things technology.
Successful retail is “more engaged with life on the street,” says Susanne Pini, HDR’s Director of Retail and Mixed-Use Practice. She points to the 864,000-sf, $200 million Woologong Central shopping center, 55 miles south of Sydney, Australia. Since its opening in 2014, 34 bars and restaurants have sprouted around it.
TECHNOLOGY: the ENEMY becomes the ENABLER
The National Retail Federation estimates total retail sales will increase 3.1% in 2016 over last year. But bricks-and-mortar dealers continue to struggle, as evinced by bankruptcies (Sports Authority, Aeropostale) and bleak earnings reports (Macy’s, Nordstrom, Target). Online sales, now 7.7% of the total, could hit 11% by 2018, predicts Forrester Research.
But dealers that once saw the Internet as a threat are finding ways to use technology. NORR’s Ricciuti says the Eastern Market in the Delta terminal at Detroit’s Metropolitan Airport is installing a “virtual maitre d,” an interactive hologram that will provide travelers with information and directions.
“Technology and mobility have created a new paradigm, in which stores and online shopping represent a single strategy to reach customers,” says Margaux Jaffa, VP, VOA Associates. Online dealers Amazon, Warby Parker, and Birchbox are opening stores, following Apple’s wildly successful example.
“It’s all about the experience,” says Jim Scarpone, Director of Business Development, Shawmut Design + Construction. A recent Shawmut project—Ralph Lauren’s three-story, 38,000-sf Polo flagship store in New York—is piloting RFID-enabled fitting rooms and touch-screen mirrors that sync with the store’s inventory and point-of-sale systems.
The mirrors, devised by Oak Labs, read bar codes on clothing tags. Numbers pop up on the mirror and shoppers can call up item details, and try different colors and styles. Requests for help are delivered via iPad to an associate, who can send a text that appears on the mirror with his or her name and photo.
The Oak Interactive Fitting Rooms can also provide dealers with tons of customer and inventory management data.
Shawmut just completed work on Cadillac House, in New York’s SoHo district. The 12,000-sf auto dealership and showroom opened June 2. It has an incubator space for designers, a coffee bar, a runway, and an art gallery. “It’s not just about selling cars,” says Scarpone, “it’s about selling the brand.”
RETURN TO THE GIANTS 300 LANDING PAGE
Related Stories
| May 27, 2014
Contractors survey reveals improving construction market
The construction industry is on the road to recovery, according to a new survey by Metal Construction News. Most metrics improved from the previous year’s survey, including a 19.4% increase in the average annual gross contracting sales volume. SPONSORED CONTENT
| May 27, 2014
How to develop a dynamic referral system
Compelling your clients to provide you with quality referrals is one of the best ways to build a successful business. Here are ways to ‘train’ your clients to make quality referrals. SPONSORED CONTENT
Sponsored | | May 27, 2014
Grim Hall opens the door to fire safety with fire-rated ceramic glass
For the renovation of Lincoln University’s Grim Hall life sciences building into a state-of-the-art computer facility, Tevebaugh Associates worked to provide students and faculty with improved life safety protection. Updating the 1925-era facility's fire-rated doors was an important component of the project.
| May 26, 2014
New Jersey data centers will manage loads with pods
The two data center facilities totaling almost 430,000 sf for owner Digital Realty Trust will use the company's TK-Flex planning module, allowing for 24 pods.
| May 23, 2014
Big design, small package: AIA Chicago names 2014 Small Project Awards winners
Winning projects include an events center for Mies van der Rohe's landmark Farnsworth House and a new boathouse along the Chicago river.
| May 23, 2014
Top interior design trends: Gensler, HOK, FXFOWLE, Mancini Duffy weigh in
Tech-friendly furniture, “live walls,” sit-stand desks, and circadian lighting are among the emerging trends identified by leading interior designers.
| May 22, 2014
How to measure what matters
Measuring what matters is essential for professional services firms, says author and consultant Tim Williams, particularly as firms continue to experiment with the concept of outcome-based compensation agreements.
| May 22, 2014
BIM-driven prototype turns data centers into a kit of parts
Data center design specialist SPARCH creates a modular scheme for solutions provider Digital Realty.
| May 22, 2014
7 ways it pays to use BIM for data centers
Here’s where AEC firms and owners are getting the most bang for the buck when using BIM/VDC to coordinate data center projects.
| May 22, 2014
No time for a trip to Dubai? Team BlackSheep's drone flyover gives a bird's eye view [video]
Team BlackSheep—devotees of filmmaking with drones—has posted a fun video that takes viewers high over the city for spectacular vistas of a modern architectural showcase.
