By Dave Gatton and Clinton Reedey, USCM Intern
June 4, 2007

Mayors, city economic development directors, retailers and developers converged on Las Vegas May 20-23 for the largest assembly of commercial retail deal makers in the nation. Hosted by the International Council of Shopping Centers, over 55,000 public and private officials wheeled and dealed over a four-day period to originate more than a third of the nation’s commercial retail leases for the year. The Las Vegas event has become the premiere commercial leasing and economic development conference for the commercial retail industry.

U.S. Conference of Mayors President Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer and ICSC Chairman, General Growth Properities CEO John L. Bucksbaum kicked-off the opening plenary session of the event on May 21, by highlighting the partnership between the mayors and the shopping centers group. “We have worked together on a lot of important issues over the last several years—everything from internet sales tax, to brownfields reform, and even support of the Community Development Block Grant program,” Bucksbaum told Palmer. “ICSC is a strong believer in bringing the public and private sector together to discuss retail as a catalyst for economic development,” he said.

Palmer highlighted the Conference’s promotion of public private partnerships and its metro economy reports that show how cities are the engines of the national economy. “While we know that cities are the engines, it is really public/private partnerships with ICSC’s members that create the jobs and develop opportunities in our business districts and neighborhoods,” he said.

Both leaders said their organizations were moving aggressively in the greening of American cities and business. Palmer, fresh off of an international climate protection meeting hosted by New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, told the delegates that the Conference had just announced creation of the Mayors Climate Protection Center, which will help cities develop and implement strategies to address global warming. Bucksbaum highlighted ICSC’s Green Pavilion, which demonstrated how the retail real estate industry is building environmental-friendly stores and shopping centers as well as the latest trends in sustainable design.

Following their introductory remarks, Bucksbaum and Palmer were joined on stage by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, and real estate developers and investors Bobby Turner of the Canyon Johnson Urban Fund, James Ratner of Forest City Enterprise, and Michael Roberts of Roberts Brothers Real Estate and Management. The panel addressed the growing trend and challenges to mixed use development in cities.

The developers all agreed that successful mixed use projects had resulted in a change of image of the urban market place. Before, “there wasn’t a belief that it could happen and that they could be successful,” said Ratner. Now, “there are enough successes to see that it can work.”

Turner said the projects can also take more time. “Magic Johnson told me that developing mixed use was a ‘Herculean’ effort,” he said. In their initial project, it took them two years and six months to get funding when originally they thought it would only take six months.

Franklin said public/private partnerships must have strong political leadership. “Mayors and their cities must be upfront as to what they can provide and must be able to accomplish what they have promised,” she said. “There must be a certain thoughtfulness (in these projects) that takes place on the front end to avoid the problems that may come on the backend.”

Hickenlooper said that local leaders need to create the context for success. “We have to make sure that the infrastructure is created in order to bring in other investment,” he said.

But Turner indicated the road has not always been smooth. “Historically, we found that two words clearly defined urban revitalization, arrogance and distrust—arrogance on the developer side and distrust from the public that developers are only in it for the money and don’t want to give anything back to the community.”

Hicklenlooper responded that the best way to avoid such a dynamic was to create a plan with all of the groups involved and to build good partnerships. “Such planning can create stability and everyone knows what is coming. This brings predictability,” he said.

“A very thorough public process (is essential) so that everyone is on board in the community.”

Franklin encouraged the developers to establish clearly defined goals and relations with city hall on the front end of the development process. She deplored hidden agendas as deal breakers and at the same time encouraged the principals to talk more often without the lawyers in the room. Her points received applause from the audience.

Ratner encouraged his colleagues to dispel the notion that “public/private partnerships end at the ribbon cutting ceremony.” Developers must maintain a dialogue with the public sector to deal with issues that arise after the project is built.

Franklin’s advice to developers was to understand the local culture of a city and to see how their proposed projects could fit into the long view that the city has for itself.

Palmer encouraged the audience to get involved in the improvement of inner city public schools. “The most important thing we can do to attract the middle class back to inner city neighborhoods, is to improve our public schools,” he said to another round of applause. Many mixed use projects include market rate housing that rely on participation of middle and higher income families.

When the panel was asked to conclude, the developers were asked, “What makes a mayor great?” Bucksbaum said, “Make your city a place that people want to be.” Ratner said, “Have a vision of where you want your city to go.” Turner said, “Understand that the decisions you make today will influence generations to come.”

The panel on mixed-use development was followed by one on underserved urban markets. Host Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson, Washington (DC) Mayor Adrian Fenty, Newark (NJ) Mayor Cory Booker; Baltimore Mayor Shiela Dixon, and Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett participated in a discussion on attracting investment to their cities.

Goodman outlined the challenge of attracting a major grocery store to a minority neighborhood. Once built, the store has exceeded sales projections. Cornett described Oklahoma City’s downtown housing boom, and Dixon talked about Baltimore’s neighborhood revitalization efforts. Booker underscored Newark’s university population as a basis for attracting more retail and mixed-use development and Fenty spoke about the continued development opportunities in a rebounding Washington (DC). Abramson, the dean of the mayors’ panel talked about how he has used a regional approach within his new metro government to attract significant private investment and to compete in a global economy.

Throughout the four-day conference, mayors and their economic development teams met with countless developers and retail representatives to discuss economic development opportunities in their cities.