We asked: What are you doing to bring shoppers back into retail centers?
Steven Levin, Founder/CEO – Centennial Real Estate
At Centennial, we are reimagining retail. We are redefining the mall of the future by creating a multitude of experiences that make our guests feel comfortable while delivering an energetic and sensory-rich excursion. At Fox Valley Mall outside Chicago, we took empty interior center court space and created a sophisticated park-like experience with a lush landscape, engaging lawn games and comfortable seating. As part of this center park space, we added a two-story “treehouse” with an 860-s.f. viewing deck, upper level connecting bridges, a spiral staircase and an events stage. The center park and treehouse totally transformed this shopping center by delivering a completely new and different way for shoppers to experience the mall. We’ve also added a MyPerks Lounge at several of our centers that offers our most loyal guests exclusive benefits and VIP access, much like being a member of an airline frequent flyer club. And we’ve added huge murals, as well as incredible entertainment options like a Dino Safari at Fox Valley Mall and a first-to-market action sports park at MainPlace Mall. These kinds of experiences give people a social, emotional and recreational connection with the mall. The shopping center once again becomes the focal point of the community, a planned destination. People may come to the mall for brunch on the patio, a musical performance, or a visit with dinosaurs, but then they shop as well. It’s a new paradigm, and one that Centennial both recognized and embraced early on.
