A lifestyle center (
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...
), or lifestyle centre (
Commonwealth English
The use of the English language in current and former Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, countries of Commonwealth of Nations, the Commonwealth was largely inherited from British Empire, British colonisation, with some exceptions. Eng ...
), is an open-air
shopping center
A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...
which aims to create a "pedestrian-friendly, town-like atmosphere with sidewalks, landscaping, ambient lighting, and park benches.
developers
Poag and McEwen are generally credited with developing the concept in the late 1980s.
Lifestyle centers emerged as a major retailing trend in the late 1990s. Sometimes labeled
boutique
A () is a retail shop that deals in high end fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in anc ...
malls or
ersatz downtown, they are often located in affluent
suburban
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
areas.
History
The proliferation of lifestyle centers in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
accelerated in the early 21st century, growing from 30 nationally in 2002 to 120 at the end of 2004.
They lie on the upscale end of commercial development, with discount-based
outlet malls on the low end.
Design
Lifestyle centers typically require less land and may generate higher revenue margins, generating close to $500 per square foot, compared to an average of $330 per square foot for a traditional mall, according to the president of Poag and McEwen.
Other advantages lifestyle centers have over traditional enclosed malls are savings on heating and cooling and quicker access for customers.
Unlike the traditional commercial layout of
strip shopping centers, lifestyle centers present their formal storefronts as facing each other across a landscaped pedestrian walkway or a low volume two-lane road. Those with a more extensive street grid or more multifunctional and dense development include offices, hotels, residential, retail, and entertainment, often with a designated function to act as the community's center.
One of the earliest proponents of lifestyle centers was RED Development, which built centers primarily in the Midwest and Southwest United States.
See also
*
Festival marketplace
*
Outlet mall
*
Power center
*
Shopping mall
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a large indoor shopping center, usually Anchor tenant, anchored by department stores. The term ''mall'' originally meant pedestrian zone, a pedestrian promenade with shops along it, but in the late 1960s, i ...
References
External links
"List of lifestyle centers" ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'', January 31, 2007
{{Retail
Euphemisms