Daily Real Estate News  |  July 18, 2008  |   Lifestyle Shopping Centers Pop Up Everywhere
Last year shopping center developers built 37 open-air “lifestyle” centers totaling 12 million square feet – about 40 percent of the open-air shopping venues built this decade, according to market-research firm Portfolio & Property Research Inc.

Double that number is under construction and three times as many are in planning stages.

But analysts say the party is nearly over.

Portfolio & Property Research forecasts that in 2009, retail-space construction in the top 54 U.S. markets will drop 48 percent from this year to 71 million square feet.

The economic slowdown is making leasing the existing space difficult. Vacancy rates at U.S. malls and shopping centers have climbed to 7.4 percent this year, the highest level this decade, according to market-research firm Reis Inc.

Retailers, including Chico's FAS Inc., Ann Taylor Stores Corp., and Talbots Inc., have begun canceling expansion plans and even shutting stores. Others, such as Linens 'n Things Inc., have sought bankruptcy protection.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Kris Hudson (07/17/2008)