More Compact Lifestyle Centers Have Cost Advantage Over Malls

"The rising cost of land in Metro Detroit and changing shoppers’ preferences are reshaping the next generation of stores as they follow people to the outlying suburbs, according to a report by Bieri & Associates Inc., a Detroit-based retail consulting firm. Retailers such as Banana Republic, Williams-Sonoma and Ann Taylor often prefer to be in outdoor settings where lines of shops and eateries are set along a winding Main Street, said Jim Bieri, president of the company that published the study. Lifestyle centers typically take up less than half the land of a traditional mall. In turn, the centers provide residents a gathering place and communities a sense of identity. Commerce Township and Wixom are the latest Metro Detroit communities to plan lifestyle centers. Rochester Hills and Novi already have them."

Thanks to Richard Layman