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Changes under way for Spring Convention ’07

By Kerri Linden

Retail real estate executives who have attended ICSC’s Spring Convention for years are used to seeing rapidly expanding Las Vegas change from year to year. But this year, there will be some equally eye-catching changes at the convention, to be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center on May 20-23.

The world’s largest gathering of retail property professionals expects to welcome 50,000 attendees this year as ICSC celebrates its 50th anniversary. And the conference space has expanded to accommodate them. Spring Convention 2007 will occupy over 2 million square feet of space, with the 25th annual Leasing Mall taking up 800,000 square feet. Exhibitors will be grouped by category, with retailers clustered in the South Hall, where a food court will allow food chains to show their products.

To help the delegates organize their time, the program has been divided up into “tracks” tailored to specific job functions and fields of interest. The first track will be for leasing, property management and professional development, while the second will be devoted to finance, capital markets and investments. The third will take up retail, consumer and real estate trends, and the fourth will concentrate on research and development, mixed-use and public-private partnerships. The fifth track will focus on global retail development and explore hot spots for retail development worldwide. Each track will contain specific sessions geared toward the topics of interest.

Sustainable development will be an important topic. The Trade Exposition will feature a Green Zone, where vendors will show environmentally friendly and sustainable products and services. A Green Pavilion will focus on sustainable design, and the spotlight will be on retailers that have incorporated its use into currently operating stores. The designs in these displays will demonstrate water and energy efficiency; the displays will include related materials and resources as well as guidelines for finding sustainable sites for stores. The examples of green shopping centers and stores will include the Wal-Mart and Target prototypes.

There will also be an exhibit on ICSC’s involvement in green initiatives, including information about the EPA Recycling Awards and the International Design and Development Award for Sustainable Design.

This year will see the fifth annual Hot Retailer Awards ceremony, which will honor those concepts deemed most innovative and original in a survey of ICSC’s 65,000 members worldwide. The ceremony takes place May 22, at 11 a.m.

Among this year’s notable speakers is Terry Lundgren, chairman, president and CEO of Macy’s Group, formerly known as Federated Department Stores.