"Outdoor malls" get a new name

If you haven’t heard the term lifestyle center, the International Council of Shopping Centers is hoping to change that. An ICSC task force recently defined lifestyle center as a retail area located near affluent neighborhoods with an open-air configuration and at least 50,000 square feet of space occupied by upscale national chain specialty stores. These centers typically include table-service restaurants, movie theaters, and design elements such as fountains. About 30 such centers currently exist, with many additional projects in the works.

According to the task force’s report, there are currently five lifestyle centers in Texas: The Arboretum at Great Hills (Austin), Alamo Quarry Marketplace and Huebner Oaks Shopping Center (San Antonio), and Southlake Town Square and University Park Village (Fort Worth).

The median age for lifestyle centers in the U.S. is four years, while the median gross leasable area is almost 250,000 square feet. Lifestyle centers across the country reported an average base rent of $33 per square foot.

Photo by Marty Kramer.

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