LAS VEGAS — About 34,000 top real estate professionals are gathered in Sin City for the annual RECon convention, one of the key gatherings for the top minds in retail.
The International Council of Shopping Centers convention is where retailers, brokers, lawyers and developers meet, talk shop and plant seeds for new stores, new complexes and property sales. Some of the top development groups with strong metro Atlanta ties are here, including Selig Enterprises, Simon, General Growth Properties, North American Properties, Fuqua Development and OliverMcMillan.
Virtually all of the powerhouse real estate services groups are here too, including CBRE, JLL and The Shopping Center Group, as well as law firms like Hartman Simons and Arnall Golden Gregory.
Like many industries, retail is grappling with the influx of new technologies and catering to the growing millennial demographic, which is in early adulthood and will make up about half the workforce in the next five years.
In metro Atlanta, malls and traditional “power centers” are being re-imagined with new amenities in part to keep up with the rise of e-commerce. And new breeds of mixed-use developments and apartment towers with ground floor retail are reshaping major corridors.
Some of the major development projects that will be pitched at the convention include the Atlanta Braves’ mixed-use development in Cobb County, the second phase of the popular Avalon development in Alpharetta and undoubtedly ones not yet on the public’s radar.
Greg Maloney, CEO of the retail practice at JLL, said this conference is a bellwether for the economy and that this is perhaps the biggest and most active year for the convention since the recession.
The AJC will bring you more about the trade show later this week.
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