Let’s just get this out of the way first. For those of you who don’t know what an “agora” is, it’s defined by Wikipedia as “a central spot in ancient Greek city-states … and the center of athletic, artistic, spiritual, and political life of the city.”

After decades of urban planning exercises (and sometimes even contortion) to segregate where we live, where we work, and where we shop, there is a movement afoot to increasingly co-mingle these activities – and that’s where today’s retail is thriving. This was a prevailing theme as the retail industry descended on Fremont at the International Council of Shopping Center’s (ICSC) 2014 Northern California Alliance Program last week.

The Alliance Program is a special ICSC initiative that provides forums for the public and private sectors to network, share ideas, and explore retail development opportunities in local communities. This year’s event included two elements. First, 10 different cities from across the Bay Area presented new retail development projects in a retail runway, a “quick-fire” format providing just enough information to pique interest from the audience. For our part, this was a great opportunity to highlight the downtown plan and the revival of The Globe.

The runway was followed by a deep dive into retail industry trends with the help of an all-star panel, including Doug Wiele of Foothill Partners (developer), Dena Belzer of Strategic Economics (economist/urban planner), and Charles Kahn of KDA (architect). The discussion was revealing and provided stark examples of how dynamic retail is, which is why planning for “traditional retail” is not only vague, it’s probably illogical. With the Internet really comprising only 9 percent of retail sales, there is still a need for brick-and-mortar retail space—but, according to Kahn, “It just has to be interesting, folks.”

And mixed-use does not necessarily equal interesting. Smart design coupled with strategic locations, such as near transit, is where retail is best positioned to succeed. It combines the right elements –proximity to residential and workplace environments and the place-making attributes to draw people in. Of course, this all comes with the backdrop of soaring rents and housing prices in the Bay Area, which the panel agreed will likely lead to the continued rediscovery of once-forgotten neighborhoods and a greater importance of side streets for up-and-coming merchants.

Our takeaway? Cities need to be flexible and cannot zone their way to great retail. It’s like a dog chasing its tail. The retail world will continue to pivot and evolve just like consumers do. But in the Bay Area, we have the opportunity to be trend setters on a national scale for how we come together again as a community in our own agora, whatever that may look like.

 

Before heading into the ‘Retail Runway and Retail Panel’ in the ballroom, attendees networked early in the morning over a continental breakfast and coffee.

 

 

An all-star panel provided in-depth information on current industry trends in retail.