We also asked, “Is there a demand for more lifestyle centers in your trade area?”

32.6% of respondents declined to answer this question, but of those who did respond, 74.1% said yes.

How should developers approach lifestyle development in the future?

Despite the high numbers in favor of lifestyle center development, reader responses suggest that developers must proceed with caution in order to be successful.

“Carefully! You have to find the right site and bring in the right tenants.”

“Cautiously, to avoid overbuilding. Many areas are approaching the saturation point.”

“Carefully. They should do their homework to determine that there is a real need for this type of product in a specific trade area.”

“Carefully, in order to avoid extending the concept into areas demographically inappropriate.”

“Cautiously. Not every new development needs to be ‘lifestyle.’ There are not that many tenants to fill all the expected development. There will be significant fallout in these centers due to tenant-oriented co-tenancy clauses that will begin to kick in as consumer demand and sales volumes retreat in the next few years, and if an expected turn in the real estate cycle comes to fruition. When these events occur, lifestyle centers will undergo some fundamental changes.”

Several readers believe that developers should consider the tenant mix more carefully when approaching these projects.

“They should consider new features and new stores, restaurants and theaters to include in the centers. They all need more variety.”

“Make sure anchor tenants are diverse.”

“You need a strong anchor tenant, such as Whole Foods, Target, Nordstrom or similar department store for a center to be successful.”

Some readers suggest that developers should consider additional features when planning lifestyle developments.

“Convenience to customers. Make lifestyle centers a destination… quality that combines retail functions with amenities.”

“Put more emphasis on common areas for kids.”

“I find parking to be my biggest concern, as the general layout of a lifestyle center does not allow for large parking fields near the tenant areas that require the greatest number of spaces.”

“Make them entertainment-friendly; create a village style and interesting greenscapes.”

“Architecture that differentiates the center from others. The idea is to create a compelling reason for customers to flock to the center and stay there awhile.”

“Make sure they have a good mix of housing, retail and office.”

Still others were dissatisfied with the use of the term ‘lifestyle center.’

“First of all, you have to understand that ‘lifestyle center’ is probably the most abused and overused term in the industry today. I have seen centers as small as 35,000 square feet described as a ‘lifestyle center,’ which is absurd.”

“The major issue with this survey is that you haven’t defined a ‘lifestyle center.’ This is a term that is constantly being misused. For example, a regional mall without a roof does not mean that the center is a lifestyle center, yet that is how it is promoted.”

“‘Lifestyle center’ has been defined as many different types of retail, from what used to be known as strip centers to high-end, open-air retail.”

“Not all developments marketed as ‘lifestyle centers’ meet the definition for such centers. ULI developed a standard definition of such centers several years ago; only those centers that meet that definition — those including a mix of uses, retail, office and residential — should be called ‘lifestyle centers.’ Many ‘lifestyle centers’ are called that because the developer has included restaurants with retail and made the center open-air rather than enclosed or a strip center; those are not ‘lifestyle centers’ and should not be so labeled.”

Editor’s Note: REBusinessOnline recognizes the ambiguity of the term ‘lifestyle center’ and the possible evolution of the term from its original meaning; however, we chose not to define ‘lifestyle center’ for the purpose of this survey so as to allow readers to evaluate the use, or overuse, of the product type by their own definitions.