April 23, 2008
CoStar Group

CoStar Group 's Sasha Pardy talks retail industry trends with Tipton Housewright, AIA who manages Dallas-based Omniplan's retail architecture practice.  Housewright is a LEED AP and a principal at Omniplan whose extensive list of big-name developer clients include: Macerich/Westcor, General Growth Properties, CBL & Associates, Allegiance Development and Westfield.

TOP TRENDS:
De-malling
Mixed-Use Developments
Developments that blend with the local culture and surroundings
Amenities such as: wi-fi, common areas, green space and children's play areas
Sustainable Design

On Sustainable Design in retail development Housewright has the following to say . . . 

"We've always believed that 'green' doesn't have to come at a huge premium -- you can do a sustainable design for little or no additional money. Sure, you can push the envelope for very high levels of sustainability that start to impact your budget, but we have done projects where LEED didn’t really add a premium to the project."

"A lot of our clients and retailers want to do the right thing as they have become more aware of the issue and know their customers understand it and are aware of sustainable building and they want to respond to that.People aren't going to forget about green building because they're tight on money -- We're past that; we turned that corner three to four years ago. It’s just a good long-term strategy in terms of their operating cost, position in the marketplace, and perception with the customer, just all around. Plus, over the next few years we're going to see more and more requirements on the part of municipalities and states and lenders to build sustainably. There's already a lot of educational institutions requiring LEED buildings, and its working it way into the private sector. Virtually every new project that we're writing a proposal for right now is to be a green project."