William Greene, Cushman & Wakefield | Hayes & Sherry Real Estate Services

What constitutes balance in a well thought-out, properly aligned retail center?

As we continue to move away from the “mall model” to the more stylish lifestyle center and urban streetscape, what is the appropriate retail mix. How much food? How many daily needs retailers, specialty retailers and apparel stores should there be?

Clearly restaurants are the new anchors of the retail world. They drive traffic, particularly in the evening which extends the shopping day and improves the experience. They create unique environments for consumers and can provide a unique sense of space.

Most importantly you can’t eat out on-line and creating a good synergy of drinking and eating brands and experiences creates a splash. But when is this overkill and at what point does too much food become a negative. What is a balanced approach to this, and where is the line?

In our market, Garden City Shopping Center in Cranston is the grand dame of the shopping experience. They have redeveloped the center and it’s into its second life with great momentum. Many retailers put this center at the top of their list when looking to come to Rhode Island. Garden City is in the enviable position of having a great cross-section of retailers already in place. Apparel, specialty, daily needs, fitness, etc. are strategically placed throughout the center. Sales and interest are strong. The only missing ingredient is a well thought out assortment of food and dining establishments. That will be the last piece of the puzzle for this center. They have the unique opportunity to look for the perfect assortment of dining establishments to compliment the strong base they already have. It will be interesting to see this play out over the next 12 to 24 months.

On the other hand, the Thayer St. corridor at Brown University on the Providence’s East Side is a good example of an unbalanced trade area. The street offers retailers a highly-educated, well-paid demographic on the door step of Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in a unique and organic urban environment. This retail corridor has been overwhelmed with food uses in the last decade as rents rose on the street, and the original cross section of retailers were priced out. Now there are only a few daily needs, apparel and specialty needs retailers left on this street. There are so many food retailers fighting for consumers at this point that the past successes of these operations have gone away and many compete daily just to break even, while they pay the highest rents in the state. This is a very unbalanced scenario and Brown University and the other landlords in this trade area are trying to get control of the situation and go back in time. This means limiting the food options, getting control of the liquor license situation and bringing more dry goods retailers back to the street. This will be difficult to do, but the effort is there.

Wayland Sq. is less than ½ mile from Thayer St. and enjoys many of the same basic characteristics of the demographic profile of this trade area. Wayland Sq. is enjoying a retail rebirth and is virtually 100% occupied with great brands offering a great shopping experience. This trade area is majority owned by Stephen Lewinstein who has been able to create a well-balanced environment with patience and a well thought out plan. The pedestrian traffic counts seem to have popped here in the last 3 to 6 months which is a very healthy sign. The addition of new retailers such as West Elm, Pasta Beach, Massage Envy and others, has clearly added to the allure. It is a dramatic overnight transition that was really 10 to 15 years in the making. As a result of this, the residential market around this trade area has begun to spike. Housing costs are rising and more people are looking to locate as close to the square as possible. This is a true win-win situation for Wayland Sq. and the East Side as a whole.

Retail in balance is key to creating a successful retail environment. It can be a delicate balance but it has become extremely important in creating and maintaining these unique places in our markets.

William Greene is a partner with Cushman & Wakefield | Hayes & Sherry Real Estate Services, Providence, R.I.