Retail Center Development: Giving the Community What It Wants

Working with residents and city officials is key not only to entitlements, but also to maximizing the success of the project.

By Colton Sudberry and Marco Sessa

Successful retail centers generally have great architecture and popular stores. But for a center to be truly prosperous, it must fulfill the needs of the community and earn its approval. The most important aspect of development, therefore, is giving the community both what it wants and what it needs.

To garner the support of a community, developers must listen to its residents' desires and concerns, from the early stages of tenant selection, throughout the project's development, and up to completion. Working with residents and city officials is key not only to entitlements, but also to maximizing the success of the project.

Finding the Right Tenants

The first step after settling on a piece of property is to identify potential tenants to be approached. It is important to look for tenants who are not already established elsewhere within the trade area, if possible, and that would fit in with the community's demographics.

A good understanding of the community's demographics is crucial to a developer in identifying the proposed tenant mix and in matching it to the area's income levels.

Once interested, prospective tenants visit the site to evaluate its accessibility, visibility, parking allotments and proposed space. They study the proposed tenant mix to determine if it will complement their own use. Prospective tenants also conduct studies to estimate potential sales volumes generated by the area. Such studies are based on demographics, education levels, population income levels and the presence of competitors within the area, among other factors.

Income levels are studied to determine the community's disposable income for retail goods and to estimate what portion of that income is likely to be spent within their store. These steps are all necessary in determining the potential for a tenant to succeed and be a welcome addition to a community.

Community Support

Project designers must be flexible with project details because residents will most likely bring changes to the table.

Early on in the planning process, developers should meet with community members to discuss the project. Meetings can take place at either community forums, planning group meetings or on a one-on-one basis. During these meetings, developers should discuss every aspect of the proposed site, from the center's appearance to the types of tenants the residents of the community would welcome.

The goal is to work with the community and make its residents feel part of the process. Building a trusting relationship between the developer and the community, by presenting a concept and considering input and ideas from local residents, is vital to the project.

During the planning of a recent commercial project in an upscale La Jolla neighborhood, we worked with community members at great lengths to incorporate their needs and wishes.

At a community meeting, developers presented proposed site plans and building elevations. A majority of the residents supported the overall concept. A few requests that were voiced included moving a parking garage ramp from one side of the project to the other in order to better accommodate regular traffic patterns.

Residents also made specific suggestions relating to window positioning, roof lines and signage opportunities. In consideration of those comments and suggestions, the developers were able to accommodate almost all requests, even though it delayed the project several months.

Understanding subtle nuances of a community's needs is difficult for an outside observer. Input from the community's residents can prove invaluable to gaining insight into concerns that might otherwise not be identified and addressed. At the end of the day, the commercial center will become a better project with community input.

Conflicting Ideas

Occasionally, developers are faced with reconciling the conflicting desires of city officials and community residents.

The best way to approach such differences is to bring these groups together to discuss the issues and reach a mutually agreeable solution. Developers must strive to work with these community groups on compromises. The goal is to provide information and answer questions in a cordial, professional atmosphere. Even if disagreements arise, it is important to maintain open dialogue in order to keep the project moving forward. Often, it may not be feasible to please everyone involved. At such times, the developers must consider a broad perspective encompassing all factors and base their decision on the aim to achieve the best project for the greater community.

Depending on controversy and issues brought up by either city officials or residents, the development of a project can take from a few months to many years.

Part of the Community

For retail center development, the community's approval is crucial. Area residents are the consumers who not only visit the center to buy goods, but also view and use it as a hub for social interaction and entertainment. It is important to remember that these projects become an integral part of the community, and in some cases, the town's center of activity, which is why it is so important to ensure that they are developed according to the community's present interests and future goals.

Sudberry and Sessa are vice presidents of development for Sudberry Properties, a San Diego-based real estate development and asset management firm specializing in shopping center projects, office and industrial parks, and mixed-use urban communities.