The Hudson Yards neighborhood officially opened to the public on March 15, 2019, marking a historic moment in the city of New York. +++ Following an investment of 52 million euros, Jardín Plaza Cúcuta opened its doors to the public on February 27, 2019 as the city’s largest shopping center. +++ TCC Assets Co., Ltd. and Frasers Property Limited jointly intend to develop 16.7 hectares, in the heart of Bangkok, into a “must-visit” destination city district. +++ Set in the heart of Shanghai’s financial district, L+ Mall will be situated close to Shanghai Tower

GranRoma in Italy, StadtGalerie Velbert in Germany, Galeria Mlociny Poland, and Ada Mall in Serbia: Various retail properties across Europe opened within just a few days.

Supernova, the Graz-based real estate investor, has taken over 10 shopping centers comprising more than 120,000 sq m of leasable area from Mercator in Slovenia. The 116.6-million-euro sales agreement was signed in October 2018; on February 13, 2019, ownership was transferred to Supernova. Managing Director Markus Pinggera intends to carry out refurbishment work on all centers.

Outlet centers need to address some of the main growth opportunities in the industry: increasing the frequency of visits and expanding the customer base by attracting new segments, as well as prolonging dwell time.

Otto Ambagtsheer, the COO of VIA Outlets, also joined the ICSC European Conference & Exhibition in the Catalan capital. In his interview with ACROSS, he talks – among other things – about the company’s current remodeling projects.

The paradigm shift in the retail and retail real estate industry were the key issues at this year’s ICSC European Conference in Barcelona. The industry’s big players adapt their business models to bind current and future customers even closer to stationary retail. Ingka Centres, formerly IKEA Centres, emphasizes new “meeting place” concepts in the hearts of cities as well as increased manpower.

In Barcelona, the ICSC once again selected the most outstanding new refurbished and established shopping centers in Europe.

Towarowa 22 is a plot of about 6.5 hectares located in the Wola district in Warsaw (Poland). The owners are EPP and Echo Investment. Hadley Dean, CEO of EPP, explains the project’s retail component.

Residential buildings and hotels emerge on shopping centers. Areas of supermarkets are being used for this as well, as the retail real estate industry discovers the benefits of urban densification.

According to Frank van Dongen and Willem-Joost de Vries of Dutch design company TconcepT, such a transformation is necessary. An essential factor in understanding this kind of placemaking is the human scale.

Eperia has expanded by 11,000 sq m, offering even more fashion brands and entertainment options in the city of Prešov, which is located in the eastern part of Slovakia.

Hines and TTMG International have reached an agreement on the start of construction of a luxury outlet shopping mall project — The Outlet Novaya Riga — off Novorizhskoye highway, located five km from the Moscow Ring Road.

Following the recent opening of Icon Outlet, a 19,500-square-meter urban outlet development by AEG and Crosstree Real Estate Partners, The O2 has announced a new wave of restaurants, cementing its position as a destination for world-class retail, dining, and entertainment.

The largest virtual amusement park to date has recently opened at a shopping center in the Belarusian capital. Tourists also make up part of the target group.

MVRDV’s plan for the Taipei Twin Towers has been selected to revitalize the central station area of Taiwan’s Capital. +++ Thor Equities Group has secured long-term leases at The Landmark Guadalajara in Mexico. +++ The Well is an ambitious mixed-use endeavor in Canada, located in the heart of Toronto’s West End. +++ TCC Assets Co., Ltd. and Frasers Property Limited jointly intend to develop 16.7 hectares, in the heart of Bangkok, into a “must-visit” destination city district.

Birmingham City Council has recently announced Lendlease as its development partner to deliver the transformation of the 17-hectare Birmingham Smithfield site.

Ingka Centres ramps up investment in China with new mixed-use projects. This will cost the company €2 billion.

Once again, real estate developments will be presented and advertised in Cannes this year. Many of them will feature retail space. Here is an overview of this year’s event.