Size Matters When Smaller Is Better
 by Vernon M. Veldekens, The Marcel Group
Real estate developers in Texas often don’t know what to do with one of our blessings—an
abundance of available land. Sometimes, this leads us to build things that are too big, buildings out of context with their surroundings, and the actual needs of our retailers, residents and tenants. Our colleagues in other geographies—laboring under more restrictions—often wind up creating great, inventive, infill projects that seem spacious while remaining in scale.
Here are some ways we can develop successful retail projects with great curb appeal and high
retention rates that more intimately cater to people’s needs.
Be Curious
In addition to the feasibility studies you order, spend some time wearing out shoe leather in the places you’re thinking of building. Talk to people who are already there, ask them what they like and need. Ask them who they’d like to share space with in their ideal location! Understanding the needs of your tenants helps you understand the needs of the residents. And ask yourself what you would want and need if you lived there—what’s missing? Fill the gap.
If you’re building more than retail—a mixeduse community, say—spend more time asking would-be homeowners and office tenants what they want their lives to look like, what they want to do at home and at work. Curiosity pays off! By taking the time to learn what’s really needed, we can create the kind of project people are hoping to have. Targeting what is really needed helps build smaller, without extraneous space, and without duplicating the “big boxes” down the road.
Be Connected
Connection is about relationships—making them, maintaining them, prioritizing them, and honoring them. Being connected means we don’t just focus on occupancy, getting a warm
body in so our occupancy rate is high or full. Make sure the fit is right for everyone. Because
you were curious first, you understand what people want and need and can give it to them.
Connection also is about intimacy. There are many large malls and strip centers in the world.
Unless you’ve been asked to build a big box, your relationships and connectedness will help
you clarify a smaller, more intimate project.
Another part of being connected is the way you lease retail space. Are you primarily working off billboards to drive tenant inquiries? Change your strategy immediately! Billboards can help, but a relationship with a good local broker makes all the difference in two crucial areas: finding the best tenants and starting construction with a lot of the space under contract.
Be connected throughout the entire lifecycle of the project—from site selection, to funding, to tenant mix, to architecture—through construction and opening day. Once it is up and running, go visit it unannounced! Being connected to the project and the people it serves is a mind-set that results in true quality.
Be a Craftsman
Craftsmen and artisans create the unique. They create things that are for a specific person or use, and they pay attention to style, colors and size. True craftsmen don’t merely duplicate their latest and greatest work, they make something new each time.
As a craftsman, you will design something that is in harmony with its surroundings. Architecturally, your creation will be beautiful, inviting and to scale. It will be a place people will look forward to—spend more time enjoying. If you’re putting retail in a pre-existing neighborhood, you’ll match the look and feel of what you’re building to be a seamless part of the beautiful homes around you. If you’re building a mixed-use community, scale will grow in importance as you create a livable, walkable world for the people who will invest a significant
portion of their< | 
