Among several emerging trends revealed in JLL’s Third Quarter 2024 Retail Outlook, few seem more intriguing than the resurgence of retail, retail rent growth, and walkable open-air retail in Sunbelt settings. The mix of the three trends can be seen at a number of the nation’s high-profile projects. Especially notable: Downtown Summerlin, outside Las Vegas, and Fenton, a mixed-use district in Cary, N.C., outside Raleigh-Durham.
Until its construction was halted by the Great Recession of 2008, Downtown Summerlin had been envisioned as The Shops at Summerlin Centre, a commercial office and indoor mall to be developed by General Growth Properties (GGP), the parent of Howard Hughes Holdings.
Following the company being spun off in 2010 by GGP, Howard Hughes Holdings picked up the ball, changing the original plan from enclosed mall to outdoor pedestrian retail center and rechristening the center Downtown Summerlin.
Unveiled on October 9, 2014 with 84 of its 125 stores open for business, Downtown Summerlin has since grown into a major destination. In addition to retail, the district delivers luxury apartments, Class A office and major sports facilities. Outstripping even Disneyland, Summerlin’s walkable urban core – located only 15 minutes away from the Las Vegas Strip – welcomes more than 20 million visitors a year. The retail spaces of Downtown Summerlin are 93 percent leased, and its office outperforms the market. Adding to an already attractive retail lineup that includes LEGO and Chanel Beauty and Fragrance, actor Mark Wahlberg plans to open a gym in Downtown Summerlin.
The formula of open air and walkability set in a warm, sun-washed setting has likely proven far more appealing than the indoor mall originally planned. “Downtown Summerlin provides a perfect example of how this approach has been successful,” says Jose Bustamente, president of the Nevada region for Howard Hughes Holdings.
“Our residents and workers have made clear that a focus on walkability sets our communities apart. Visitors to Downtown Summerlin enjoy wide sidewalks, abundant green space and curated public art and outdoor retail along with restaurants and in-demand office space. An open-air retail experience is perfectly suited to Sunbelt communities like ours. It takes advantage of the incredible weather we enjoy year-round to drive foot traffic to stores . . . That foot traffic will only increase as Summerlin grows.”
Fenton, Cary, NC
Combining the same elements of walkability and Sunbelt open-air retail, the Cary, N.C. district of Fenton is a 92-acre mixed-use setting unveiled in 2022, being developed in phases. The creation of Hines and Columbia Development Group, in partnership with Affinius Capital, the $1 billion live-work-play district is Cary’s first vertically integrated, mixed-use destination and now a favored gathering spot within the metro. Almost a quarter-million square feet of shopping and dining is combined with a summertime live music series and wintertime ice skating. The initial phase also featured 357 apartments.
When fully developed, Fenton will incorporate more than 2.5 million square feet of shopping, office, dining, hospitality and multifamily residential.
Old Orchard, Skokie, IL
Communities built around walkable open-air retail are attractive enough to overcome even the lack of a Sunbelt location. Proving that assertion is the redevelopment of Westfield Old Orchard, the venerable Chicago-area retail center unveiled a few days before Dwight Eisenhower’s reelection to a second presidential term in the fall of 1956.
Last year, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), the owner, developer and operator of the Skokie, Ill. center, began development of 400 new luxury multifamily residences, to welcome first residents in early 2027. Also under development: New restaurants, offices, medical facilities, wellness spaces and a park and event space that will host farmers’ markets, concerts and festivals. Though proximate to the highly-traveled I-94 and I-90 expressways, the new open-air Old Orchard will be even more pedestrian-friendly than it has been for 69 years. That leaves it poised to take full advantage of the renewed popularity of open-air, walkable retail settings for years to come.
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