©2024 Real Estate Publishing Corporation
July 2024 • VOL. 41 No. 4
Retail apocalypse? It’s not happening in the Twin Cities By Dan Rafter, Editor
Mall of America continues to offer both experiences and new retailers. (Photos courtesy of Mall of America.)
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emember those dire headlines warning of a retail apocalypse? Or those news stories predicting the death of brick-and-mortar stores? Turns out, retail wasn’t nearing its end. It was just evolving. And the results of that evolution are clear today in the Twin Cities: The retail sector is strong here, with an eclectic mix of restaurants drawing diners hungry for new experiences to Minneapolis-St. Paul and other
retailers offering experiences that customers can’t get online. How has this happened? Why is the retail sector performing so well in the Twin Cities today? Retail specialists here say it all comes down to creativity and offering customers something new. Busy days at Mall of America Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, has been generating headlines since it opened in 1992.
This massive mall boasts more than 520 stores and employs about 11,000 year-round workers. About 40 million people visit the mall each year. That’s more than the combined populations of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Canada. And in good news for the state? Mall of America generates nearly $2 billion in economic activity each year for the state of Minnesota. Retail to page 20
Want to attract office tenants today? Your building needs a strong property management team
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By Dan Rafter, Editor
strong property management team has always been essential to office building owners hoping to attract and retain tenants: It’s a key benefit that helps owners set their buildings apart from competing properties. Today? Property management teams are even more important to the owners of office properties. It’s no secret that the office sector is struggling today.
The work-from-home movement means that many companies are renting less office space. That makes it more difficult for office building owners to fill their properties. Having a strong property management team in place? That’s a key amenity that building owners can tout to prospective tenants, another tool they can use
to entice tenants to choose their office property over others. Property managers today, then, are partners to building owners, working with them to identify and meet the needs of tenants. Not only does this help building owners attract new tenants to their office properties, but it also helps them retain those tenants Tenants to page 22