Wintersemester 2008/2009

Study Course: Real Estate Management

Oberseminar 7th Semester

Theme:

The History Of Shopping Center

Development

Date of Delivery: 9 October 2008

Author:

Tabea Söllner

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INDEX

Index

II

List of Figures

III

List of Tables

III

1.

Introduction 1

2.

Definitions and Classifications 1

2.1

Definition `Shopping Center′ 1

2.2

Types of Shopping Centers 2

3.

The History of Shopping Center Development 3

3.1

USA ­ The Country of Origin 3

3.2

Europe 6

3.3

Germany 7

4.

Current Situation 9

4.1

USA 9

4.2

Europe 10

4.3

Germany 12

5.

New Trends and Future Developments 13

5.1

USA 13

5.2

Europe and Germany 14

6.

Examples of Shopping Center Developments 16

6.1

Istanbul Cevahir Shopping and Entertainment Center, Turkey 16

6.2

Ruhrpark Bochum, Germany 17

7.

Conclusion 17

8.

References 19

II

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List of Figures

Figure 1: Country Club Plaza, Missouri 4

Figure 2: Europe′s Shopping Center Growth 7

Figure 3: Ruhrpark Bochum 8

Figure 4: Shopping Center Development in Germany 9

Figure 5: Germany′s Shopping Center Stock 12

Figure 6: European Shopping Center Markets 14

Figure 7: Europe′s Shopping Center Pipeline 2008-2009 15

Figure 8: Istanbul Cevahir 16

Figure 9: Ruhrpark Bochum 17

List of Tables

Table 1: Shopping Center Types in the U.S. 2

Table 2: The International Standard of European Shopping Center Types 3

Table 3: The Total Stock of Shopping Centers 11

III

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The History of Shopping Center Development · Tabea Söllner

1

1. Introduction

Shopping centers continue to be a very successful land use, real estate and retail

concept, but there has been a significant change since the development of the first

shopping centers in the USA. Today, shopping centers are not only shopping des-

tinations anymore. A modern shopping center offers a wide range of possibilities.

Shopping, dining, entertainment, sports and recreation is consolidated and so it

becomes more and more an amusement function.

The purpose of this paper is to show the history of shopping center development.

But it won′t be focused on the history only. As shopping center activity continues

worldwide, also the current situation, new trends and future developments will be

illustrated as well as an insight into the new shopping center market of Asia, which

is one of the most growing markets at the moment, will be given.

2. Definitions and Classifications

2.1 Definition `Shopping Center′

The International Council of Shopping Center (ICSC) distinguishes between shop-

ping centers in the USA and shopping centers in Europe. However, a shopping

center in the USA is "A group of retail and other commercial establishments that is

planned, developed, owned and managed as a single property, with on-site park-

ing provided. The center′s size and orientation are generally determined by the

market characteristics of the trade area served by the center. The three main

physical configurations of shopping centers are malls, open-air centers, and hybrid

centers."1

In contrast, a shopping center throughout Europe is understood as "A retail prop-

erty that is planned, built and managed as a single entity, comprising units and

`communal′ areas, with a minimum gross leasable area (GLA) of 5,000 square me-

ters."2

A diversity of town planning regulations and development restrictions account for

the definition difference.

1 http://www.icsc.org/srch/lib/USDefinitions.pdf

2 Lambert, J., One Step closer to a Pan-European Shopping Center Standard, 2006, p. 35

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The History of Shopping Center Development · Tabea Söllner

2

The term `shopping center′ came along in the early 1950′s and is now used in

most parts of the world. However, the terms `shopping mall′, `shopping arcade′ as

well as `shopping precinct′ are well known too.

The author of this paper would like to point out that the term `shopping center′ will

be used synonymously in this paper for all above mentioned terms.

2.2 Types of Shopping Centers

Shopping centers in the USA can be grouped into three main parts ­ mall, open-

air center and hybrid center. A mall is typically enclosed, climate-controlled,

lighted, flanked on one or both side by storefronts and entrances and has on-site

parking. An open-air center typically has an attached row of stores or service out-

lets managed as one unit with on-site parking. The open-air center used to be

called `strip center′ because of its linear form and its shops side-by-side in a long

and narrow row. Hybrid center combine elements from two or more of the main

shopping center types. Value-oriented mega-malls (combine mall, power center

and outlet elements), power-lifestyle centers (combine power center and lifestyle

center elements) and entertainment-retail centers (retail uses with multiplex movie

theaters, theme restaurants and other entertainment) are general hybrid centers.3

Format

Type

Area (sq ft*)

Regional Center

400,000-800,000

Mall

Superregional Center

800,000+

Neighborhood Center

30,000-150,000

Community Center

100,000-350,000

Lifestyle Center

150,000-500,000

Open-Air

Power Center

250,000-600,000

Theme/Festival Center

80,000-250,000

Outlet Center

50,000-400,000

* 1 sq ft = 0.09 sq m

Table 1: Shopping Center Types in the U.S.

Source: Author′s demonstration according to ICSC

European shopping centers can be divided into two main groups ­ traditional cen-

ter and specialized center. A traditional center can be enclosed or open-air, is an

3 Cp. http://www.icsc.org/srch/lib/USDefinitions.pdf

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