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Shopping Centers Today -> April 2002
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WHAT’S A LIFESTYLE CENTER?
ICSC’s Research Advisory Task Force comes up with a definition
By Michael Baker
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| CocoWalk is considered one of the first lifestyle centers. |
“Lifestyle center” has become a popular term to describe a range of different shopping center models. But what does it mean?
Though the first lifestyle center went up about 16 years ago, as many as two-thirds of them have sprouted since 1996. Memphis, Tenn.-based developer Poag & McEwen Co. claims credit for coining the term and even registered it as a service mark in May 1997, although the company hasn’t pursued claims against others that use the word to describe their own projects. There are probably still not many more than 30 of these centers in existence, but scrutiny of them has intensified because many industry observers have touted them as the next big thing in shopping center development. After all, construction of new regional malls has slowed to a snail’s pace, with only 11 openings in 2001 and nine scheduled for this year. And so, the argument goes, with national specialty chains in need of a new shopping center platform to support store growth, lifestyle centers are the answer.
The developers of lifestyle centers say that well-heeled consumers are wild about them because they combine the magnetism of high-end retail, dining and entertainment with the drive-up convenience of a strip center.
ICSC’s Research Advisory Task Force decided that the lifestyle center phenomenon was important enough to justify drawing up a formal definition of the term, gathering data on these centers’ key physical and operational characteristics and tracking the development of new projects. The results are detailed in the winter 2001-2002 issue of ICSC’s Research Quarterly (“Lifestyle Centers — A Defining Moment”).
The ICSC group found that lifestyle centers cater to the retail needs and lifestyle pursuits of their customers and, today, at least, are usually upscale projects located near affluent neighborhoods.
They typically range between 150,000 square feet and 500,000 square feet of leasable retail area. But “typically” is an important word, because the 30 representative lifestyle centers on a list compiled by ICSC ranged from as little as 90,000 square feet of gross leasable space (One Pacific Place, Omaha, Neb.) to as much as 760,000 square feet (The Summit Shopping Center, Birmingham, Ala.) (see table). The median size was 249,000 square feet.
Lifestyle centers are open-air and usually include at least 50,000 square feet of space devoted to upscale national chain specialty stores. These stores offer apparel, home goods, books and music. The most commonly occurring stores at the centers shown in the table, for example, are Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Barnes & Noble, Bath & Body Works, Gap, GapKids, Pottery Barn, Talbots, Victoria’s Secret and Williams-Sonoma.
The widespread presence of nationally recognized retailers at lifestyle centers, however, does not preclude the important role of local independents. In fact, at some of the centers, such as Mizner Park, Boca Raton, Fla., independents dominate the retail mix.
Further, although many lifestyle centers have eschewed traditional mall anchors, some do have a department store, albeit commonly of a smaller format than its mall counterparts.
Joining merchandise retailers in lifestyle centers are table-service restaurants (the average number of restaurants for the centers on the list is 5.5) and frequently multiplex cinemas as well. Many have other entertainment components, such as ice-skating rinks.
On average, there are just over 50 stores in a lifestyle center, including restaurants. But though the selection of stores and restaurants is essential to the appeal of these projects, they do not constitute the whole package. Design ambience is critical; the centers often feature fountains and other landscaping elements that collectively recreate a village square, marketplace or Main Street atmosphere.
ICSC is creating a Web-based survey for lifestyle center developers to provide information about their projects. This survey and other tools will enable the industry to stay on top of the growth and evolution of the lifestyle center genre — and, perhaps, clear up some of the confusion.
Michael Baker is director of research for ICSC.
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