Letter from America
#Week49 saw Innesco in action stateside, attending the ICSC Dealmaking event in New York City and catching up on everything real estate in the Big Apple.
The event itself – held under the theme of “CONNECT. COLLABORATE. CELEBRATE - with the energy of New York” – has been a fixture on the global retail leasing calendar for many years now, and it was great to see so many familiar names lining up to showcase the concepts and sign the deals that will shape the future of shopping.
The expo-conference format works particularly well for a forum that is about both dealmaking and learning, with seminar sessions focused around the ‘GATHER’ stage at the centre of the event. On the exhibitor front, it was particularly pleasing to catch up with our North American clients and contacts, and also with UK friends who had also made the trip over, including David Harper and James Ebel from Newmark, whose stand – covered in imagery of London – was one of the largest at the show.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway was the optimism that prevailed across the event. Retail’s challenges are well understood, but as other sectors wrestle with similar issues it is heartening to see the extent to which stores and consumer-led initiatives are returning to the fore. Industry panellists commented that retail was once again “the darling” of the commercial real estate industry. Taking a look at the vibrancy and innovation on show – with some startling peeks at how AI will revolutionise the consumer experience – it is hard to disagree.
Of course, no trip to New York is complete without taking the opportunity to see what else is going on in a city that is in so many ways the driver of new real estate trends. So it was fantastic to visit the American Dream mall in New Jersey – developed and owned by Innesco client Triple Five Group – and take another study tour around Related’s landmark Hudson Yards development in Manhattan. Both locations are bringing new approaches to retail/leisure and business space respectively, and it is easy to see their influence in many of London’s leading schemes. One of the joys of real estate is its willingness to learn and take inspiration from successes elsewhere, something that is more important now than ever.
Have a great weekend.