Monday through Friday,
we search the globe
for breaking stories
so you don’t have to.
Your daily source for breaking industry news has added
the convenience of a weekly webzine — a "must read"
for any business industry professional — delivered on-
line each week as an easy-to-read, printable review of the
nation’s top commercial real estate stories.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY FOR ONLY $379/YR ( 52 ISSUES).
GO TO WWW.REMNEWSLETTERS.COM/GSW/03
Real Estate Media’s print, online and conference
network provides the finest coverage and widest
marketing opportunities in the industry.
For a full product listing, go to: www.remedianetwork.com
demand to lease the ground-level retail.”
For mixed-use projects combining offices
and retail, the popularity of the retail usually depends on the businesses upstairs and
how close the nearest residential areas are.
“If you have an office building with retail
and across the street there’s a 300-unit
apartment complex going up, the retailers
can rely on the residential across the street,”
says Silbert. “If it’s a smaller area that doesn’t have the residential demand, you’re not
going to attract a lot of the retailers you’d
normally seek because they’re looking for
residents rather than commuters. In that
case, the lease-up time might be longer.”
But the leases will come. According to
The Goldstein Group’s quarterly vacancy
reports, New Jersey has a retail vacancy rate
of less than 5%. In some places around the
state, the rates hover around 4%.
“The retail end has been very brisk in
leasing out the space in mixed-use projects,” says Chuck Lanyard, principal and
director of brokerage services with The
Goldstein Group, Glen Rock.
The smaller town center developments
can also be more easily tailored to local
tastes and needs than larger malls. “
Developers that specialize in these projects are
able to develop from the ground up,” says
Silbert. “It’s a smaller environment than a
mall, allowing them to develop based on
demand, based on local demographics.
They can provide what the town wants.”
In addition, lifestyle centers and mixed-use developments aren’t dependent on a big-box anchor or a supermarket the way
traditional strip malls are, which is helpful
since supermarkets are consolidating and
lessening the competition for such large sites.
Mixed-use projects are highly appealing
from tenants’ perspectives as well. The residents who move into the on-site townhomes or apartments enjoy the
convenience of having stores and a place to
meet their friends and neighbors nearby.
“Mixed-use developments create a sense
of community, which adds to the appeal,”
says Matt Harding, president and COO of
Levin Management Corp., North Plainfield.
“It’s not just a shopping center—there are
other things to do and places to meet. In
some cases, they can provide a center of
town that really wasn’t there.”
Harding cites Edgewater Square in Edge-
