Attendance is expected to top 11,000 for the first time, which would set a conference record, up from last year’s roughly 10,300 attendees, according to Timothy McGuinness, ICSC’s vice president of global trade expositions. The show has essentially doubled in size over the past three years, both in terms of exhibit space and attendance numbers. “The numbers speak for themselves as far as how important this event is to the industry,” said McGuinness.

he New York Deal Making has been held at the Javits Center since 2014, but this year’s conference space is to increase by 25 percent, to nearly 221,000 square feet. The show’s main entrance will be the center’s 15-story Crystal Palace entrance hall. Upon entry, attendees will access three main areas in succession: the Global Pavilion, the P3 Pavilion and the Innovation Lounge.

One of the biggest talking points around this year’s show is the move to the glass-roofed top floor of the Javits Center. “It has been a goal for ICSC for a very long time to first move the program to Javits and then from the lower level to the prime exhibition hall,” said Stan Glantz, CRX, CDP, chairman of the conference program planning committee and vice president of development and construction at New York City–based Katz Properties.

Though the total number of exhibitors is expected to remain at about 500, McGuinness cites a pent-up demand among them to augment their individual spaces, and this is what the move upstairs provides. “Many of our members wanted more space and to expand their footprint on the show floor, versus in the past, where there were challenges because of space constraints that we had at the venue,” he said. “Moving the show upstairs has enabled us to allow companies who wanted incrementally more space over the last couple of years to [have] that incremental space.”

The larger exhibitor footprint has allowed Kimco Realty Corp. to expand its presence from only a meeting room to a full booth this year, according to Ross Cooper, Kimco’s president and chief investment officer. “The show is important for us, since it’s a year-end event, and it is a good opportunity to rehash the past year while also looking forward to the following year,” said Cooper. “It is well attended, with retailers as well as capital-markets participants, so we take advantage of the feedback both internally and externally to help craft our strategy going forward.”

Many share the sentiment. “Beyond the meetings with new and old acquaintances and a myriad of networking opportunities, this is truly where retail deals foment,” said Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of retail leasing at Douglas Elliman Real Estate. “Forget the naysayers — retail is alive and well. This is the best platform, with a gathering of the best minds. It is a must-attend if you want to stay at the top of the game. I’ve been participating for 25 years, and I consistently gain new knowledge of trends and ideas and strengthen my contact base.”

Hessam Nadji, president and CEO of Marcus & Millichap, agrees. “Attending New York Deal Making makes it possible for us to connect with more retail clients and potential clients than any other retail event because of its draw and massive attendance,” Nadji said. “The industry comes there to do business, and we consistently close deals at the conference.”

Retailers, too, find the New York show to be of great value, as Michael Shanahan, vice president of real estate at Burlington Coat Factory, will attest. “As Burlington accelerates its new-store growth,” Shanahan said, “this show has become one of the most important deal-making events, attracting developers from all across the country.”

Glantz says the 2017 show will feel “substantially different” as it strives to be both more national and more international in scope. “Over the last several years, the program has drawn from a national audience, and this year’s conference includes various sessions of a global nature as we turn our attention to reach a wider global audience,” Glantz said.

That reach includes 10 companies from Europe or Latin America occupying spaces in the Global Pavilion. “Based upon what we’re hearing from our members and also people from overseas, this is going to become probably the global event to come to,” said McGuinness. “We’re not quite there yet, but I think it will be within the next three to five years.”

Education will feature more prominently at this year’s show as well. The planning committee has expanded the program to include a full day of educational sessions on Tuesday, Dec. 5, before the exhibition hall officially opens, the very next day. This will give members an opportunity to attend the sessions without the conflicting priority of time on the exhibition hall floor. This year’s keynote luncheon on Wednesday, Dec. 6, features a moderated panel of retail executives. The second keynote presentation, at lunch on the following day, will take the form of a fireside chat. Glantz says ICSC will provide more-detailed programming information as the show draws near.

Given the way advances in technology are transforming the retail industry, the New York Deal Making will offer an Innovation Lounge with exhibits from 12 leading tech companies. “We’re starting to look at the show from a technology standpoint and [from the viewpoint of] how prominent it has become now in the industry, so we are putting heavy emphasis on that,” said McGuinness. “There is an educational component to this also: People have this thirst for knowledge, and we want to try and deliver that for the next several years.”

In many respects, attendees consider the New York show to be a leading indicator of the trends that will come to fruition in the year ahead. “A lot of deals are brokered at this event, or the genesis of deals begins at the New York event,” said McGuinness. “If you look at the spacing of our Las Vegas show and the New York show, a lot of times deals will begin to be discussed at the New York show and then they’ll actually close at the Las Vegas show, and even vice versa.”

Frank Begrowicz, Miami-based director of retail brokerage at Cushman & Wakefield, says New York City represents an entry point for global and entrepreneurial brands, making the show an important event, given his firm’s focus on urban retail. “You know that every major retailer is listening at the New York show, and it’s just as important as the RECon show in terms of getting feedback,” he said.

The topic of retail rents will be a major discussion point among attendees, says Begrowicz. “Rents got to an uncomfortable place for a lot of tenants,” he said. “What you’re going to hear at this show is that at a minimum, there has been a leveling off of pricing — and in some cases, a contraction. That’s a great message going into 2018, but that wasn’t the message back in May.”