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Now that spring is officially here, I wanted to reflect on the Chicagoretail construction trends and news we’ve seen so far in 2011. From the new commercial construction projects we know are in the pipeline, to what I heard at the recent Bisnow ChicagoRetail Summit , I am cautiously optimistic. Good News/Bad News.
For instance, in Chicago, the Fashion Outlets of Chicago debuted on August 1 , marking the area’s first new Chicago shopping center development in 20 years. Englewood recently finished the build-out of Ports 1961 at the Fashion Outlets of Chicago in Rosemont. Case-in-point–the Fashion Outlets of Chicago.
The grocery market has been extremely hot in the Chicago area. In the depths of a historically cold Midwestern winter, one market has remained particularly hot for Chicago commercial general contractors—grocery store construction. Englewood recently completed a Trader Joe’s in Libertyville, Ill.
With our firm’s long track record in retail construction, we’ve witnessed firsthand the ebb and flow of activity across this sector over the years. It’s true the retail mix among flagship stores in prime locations is changing. Today, many of those traditional mall retailers have closed their flagships.
The rise of on-line shopping has been a boon to retailers, but if we are honest, it has been detrimental to commercial general construction, with the closing of many brick and mortar retail stores. That’s why savvy shopping center developers are developing new strategies to compete and win against online retail.
The recent Chicago City Council approval of a second Wal-Mart in the city limits is excellent news for Chicago’s commercial construction industry. History shows commercial developers do well opening new big box retail stores like Bed Bath and Beyond, Home Depot or Best Buy near Wal-Marts. Unions, politics, retail construction.
In the Chicago area alone, there are probably close to a dozen local and regional shopping malls in the middle of a shopping center renovation project, or, slated to begin one in the very near future. However, this is not just a Chicago trend. Of course, all of this commercial construction activity has been a boon to the industry.
With the 2012 Summer Olympics right around the corner, it got me thinking that with London six hours ahead of Chicago, much of what we’ll be watching will be old news taped from earlier in the day. But it’s not just a difference in time zones that needs to be overcome in order to have a successful international retail construction project.
Chicago Place shopping mall retrofit. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t seeing interesting retail construction projects or innovative commercial construction retrofits, like the 23 up-and-coming new-store concepts as noted by Retail Traffic. There also is definitely something in the water with baby/children-focused retailers.
Coming out of the International Council of Shopping Centers’ RECon convention in Las Vegas last month, there’s been a lot of conversation in the media around the future of retail development. 2) Vehicles to “Drive” Mall Traffic. 2) Vehicles to “Drive” Mall Traffic.
Englewood Construction has worked on a number of Chicagoretail construction projects in high-traffic urban areas, such as American Girl Place on Michigan Avenue. Is this a new retail construction trend ? Probably so. The time frame for working is a lot shorter, so your GC has to work smarter. Michigan Ave.,
As a shopping center landlord or retail developer, you might find yourself with a big empty retail space you need fill – especially if you had Borders or Circuit City as a tenant. Of course the best Chicago commercial contractors will also factor due diligence with municipalities into their budgets. The answer is none.
Michigan Avenue in Chicago is seeing a mix of high-end retailers and value retailers, a trend that will continue in 2013 in markets across the country. This mix benefits retailers such as American Girl, which Englewood built out in 2009 at Water Tower Place, as more foot traffic passes through the area.
What are Today’s Best New Retail Developments? With the way the commercial real estate market has been the last several years, people are looking to commercial construction experts for the best construction tips on how to proceed with a successful new retail development. Restaurant. Shopping Center. Hospitality. Office/Industrial.
Englewood Construction recently completed a Season’s 52 on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. Activity was up for retail and restaurant construction and once-stalled commercial construction projects are finding themselves back on 2014 bid sheets for the best commercial general contractors. In Glenview, Ill.,
The Chicago blizzard of 2011 is a story we’ll be talking about for generations. 3, 2011, that didn’t mean the best Chicago contractors weren’t working. After all, shopping center landlords, restaurants and retailers couldn’t afford to be closed two days in a row. Any commercial project started after Dec.
If you are a player in the retail world, odds are you spent a few days in Las Vegas last month at ICSC’s “ Global Retail Real Estate Convention ” (RECON). It’s always an exciting event for the retail real estate industry. Here are my three takeaways for retail construction trends from RECON 2014: Money is out there.
In fact, Chicago cupcake restaurants and food trucks are popping up all over the place. However, the best Chicago cupcakes Englewood Construction ever had were the ones from our latest Chicago education construction job. Cupcake restaurants are hot right now in restaurant construction trends.
Congratulations to Englewood Construction’s Retail Group on a ZERO punch list for our second Purple project completion in Schaumburg, IL’s Woodfield Shopping Center. Golf-X, Chicago, IL. Construction is rarely pretty but wait until you see the finished X-Golf Chicago project. Floor & Decor, Chicago, IL.
There’s no doubt that local businesses will have much to celebrate if on October 2, 2009, Chicago wins the 2016 Summer Olympics bid. But just how would Chicago hosting the Olympics affect the city’s restaurant and retail construction activity ? Retail and restaurant construction would most likely start in 2015.
With four months under our belt, I think the time is right to revisit one of the trends I mentioned called “Back on Track” and its relevance to the retail construction industry. As for new retail construction, it seems the big winners are niche retail brands that dominate a market category, such as American Girl and lululemon.
The same can be said for all those savvy national retailers who are currently taking advantage of the availability of prime space at regional shopping centers and decreased construction costs in order to enter high-profile markets. Retail Power Center. will say those retailers and shopping center developers are crazy like a fox.
For those familiar with Chicagoretail construction , think back a couple of years to when the dated Orland Park Place interior mall underwent construction and turned itself inside out to became one of the area’s most successful outdoor shopping centers. Sportmart at Orland Park Place (now a Sport Authority).
There are some great opportunities, especially in retail construction , as highly motivated landlords are offering prime locations with attractive rents. You can bet smart retailers will continue to mimic the magic shopping experience Apple has created with their retail stores. Apple Magic. International Invasion. Fast-Casual.
What Every Developer Should Ask General Contractors During the Retail Construction Bid Process. For my first blog post, a lot of people at Englewood Construction suggested I write about how to choose a retail construction company. In my experience, the most successful retailers choose these qualities over a low bid every time.
We saw drawings for new Chicago restaurant projects, retail construction work, office renovations, school construction and learning center additions – you name it, we saw it. Developers and retailers that would normally go 2 deep in bidding went 4 deep. HIGH – Everyone was submitting drawings in 2011. I was wrong.
With the shuttering of stores like Circuit City and Linens N’ Things, big box retailers looking to gain market share certainly have their choice of vacant store locations in prime markets and shopping centers.
Low – Chicago losing the 2016 Olympic bid. When Chicago lost the 2016 Olympic bid this fall, it was a devastating blow to the city’s restaurant and retail construction industry. High – Niche or value-driven retail construction. Retail construction projects in niche or value-driven markets. 3 Dollar General.
Englewood’s business development team attended ICSC’s CenterBuild conference in December, where conversations revolved around retail activity and opportunities in 2020. Retail Developers Will Play All Sides: . As we’ve discussed previously on this blog, there are unique challenges and opportunities associated with work in this arena.
Value-based retailers like hhgregg, Ross Dress for Less and Savers should experience construction growth in 2012. It’s that time of year when our team predicts the 2012 commercial construction trends – from what’s on tap for Chicagoretail construction to national restaurant construction and hospitality construction.
Recently, our director of operations Chuck Taylor was featured in a Chicago Tribune article based on the reporter’s curiosity about a hotel peephole he kept in his office. What made this peephole so interesting was that it was salvaged from the hotel construction renovation we did of a HoJo in Chicago.
While I think everyone in the retail industry likes to hear news that 2011 retail sales are up – as it usually means new retail construction projects are in the pipeline – it’s still tough for shopping center landlords to make deals work with retail tenants. This is most popular with big retail leases in 2011.
I recently attended a senior housing conference in Chicago where a panelist discussed the challenge senior housing operators face in hiring and retaining caregivers and other staff given the high hourly wages offered by employers like Amazon. Developers Think Outside the Big Box to Fill Retail Vacancies.
While there are three sides to every story, recent commercial construction news stories like this one from the Chicago Tribune , “Construction firm caught in contract probe” , really burn me up. The best Chicago construction firms play by the rules and do business above board. I don’t mean to come off as preachy, I’m just mad.
A national commercial construction general contractor can provide clients rough market-specific cost estimates for building the same concept in different cities, as Englewood does for retailer Hobby Lobby. They were surprised because they assumed we could only give them a budget for Chicago, our local market.
On one hand, retail sales continue to show improvement from last year, yet the suburban shopping mall – or at least the traditional enclosed shopping mall – seems to be on the way out. Most retailers today want less space. And I know people don’t believe this, but the best Chicago contractors hate change orders.
With so much desirable retail space available, many brands were taking advantage of desirable shopping center rents and tenant allowances to add a new store location and increase market share. While sustainable construction was a hot button in 2010 office construction, green retail and restaurant construction did not gain as much traction.
Most of the commercial construction news we discuss in this blog involves new Chicagoretail and restaurant construction projects or analyzing commercial construction trends. We weren’t sure how many of you would find Hard Hat Chat, or keep reading after our first blog post, Retail Development and Construction: Getting Started.
Case in point, a developer once asked us to price out a retail-to-restaurant conversion on the first floor of a Chicago high rise. Recently we worked with a national appliance manufacturer to scout existing retail locations for a prototype of a new branded laundromat concept. Will any “unbranding” be necessary?
Englewood recently began work on Season’s 52 in Chicago. Also, a lot retail construction projects are initiated in the summer to have everything complete by November 1, just in time for the holiday shopping season. The summer construction season often brings rising costs. www.EnglewoodConstruction.com.
If your retail construction contractor can build retail stores like this on Michigan Avenue…. If you did retail construction for Hollywood Videos then you couldn’t build Blockbusters. Conversely, there have also been retail construction clients like the Limited that said ‘if you can build a GAP then you can build a Limited.’
For example, in Englewood’s home market of Chicago, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks must do a comprehensive review of drawings to make sure they meet its qualifications, rules and regulations, before the project goes before the Chicago Department of Buildings for permitting.
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