Entertainment destinations boost redevelopment

The trend in entertainment development is an emphasis on quality over quantity, with top-flight projects offering a variety of uses. Projects should reflect the character of the community in which they are located, according to experts assembled at the Urban Land Institute's recent Urban Entertainment Development conference.

Held in March in Beverly Hills, Calif., the conference focused on trends in destination real estate, a type of development that includes a mix of entertainment (possibly a sports arena or museum), icon restaurants and retail uses.

Although the concept of destination real estate is only a few years old, it is already undergoing a significant shift in design, following the recent overbuilding of movie theaters; consolidation and retrenchment of major retailers; and the collapse of several themed-restaurant chains.

Conference participants concurred that limited use, stand-alone projects that don't blend in or enhance the surrounding community are becoming obsolete. These are being replaced by multiple-use developments that contribute to the appeal of the entire community.

According to Kenneth A. Himmel, conference chairman and president and chief executive officer of The Palladium Company in New York City, entertainment projects that are "driven by commodity, not quality" are the ones most likely to fail.

"We need to be doing fewer projects and do them really well. We don't need a new generation of malls with multiple movie screens and theme-based restaurants. What we need are more places with character, places that reflect local history and culture."

The development of urban entertainment centers is having a notable impact on downtown revitalization efforts, conference participants noted. Many of the projects discussed at the conference involved makeovers of older properties, such as shopping centers containing mostly retail and fast-food courts, into multipurpose developments that might offer any combination of retail, restaurants, public spaces, cultural centers, health clubs, recreation centers, theaters, sports parks, offices, hotel space, or housing.

Case studies ranged from Downtown Disney, a vast mixed-use expansion of Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., to Canal City in Osaka, Japan, which features a nine-acre public park on top of a building. While the projects varied widely, the common factors of each were multiple uses, an element of authenticity, the availability of public space, attention to detail, and the desire to draw local residents as well as tourists.

Entertainment projects with enough variety to attract daytime as well as evening visitors have the best chance for success, said Melvin Simon, co-chairman of the board of directors for the Simon Property Group in Indianapolis. "A project that is good will last through real estate cycles. As for the bad projects, well, it's good there are cycles," Simon said.

Today's entertainment destinations must offer unique experiences to visitors that will bring them back, explained David Moreno, senior vice president of The Jerde Partnership International, Inc. in Venice, Calif. "These projects should be part of the cityscape. This is about event making, about creating memorable places that will live on no matter how many tenants come and go. You want people to come just because they enjoy being there, not just to shop."

Conference keynote speaker Thomas Krens, director of Guggenheim Museums Worldwide, New York City, discussed the increasing use of museums as cultural centers, a trend that represents the merging of high culture and popular culture. "The current form of art museums may be obsolete. We recognize where our audience comes from, and this puts us in the same room with the entertainment industry," Krens said.

He discussed plans for several sites worldwide to serve as new venues for portions of the widely diverse Guggenheim collection. "We are looking to expand the definition of a museum we see ourselves as reaching a wider audience. A museum's focus is not to be narrow, but to offer a wide variety. To pretend that the larger world does not exist is not realistic. Our buildings are about amazement. We want people to come and be amazed," he said.

Conference participants discussed several principles applied to the development of destination real estate:

1. Distinctive place making focusing on place making as a critical component of distinctiveness, as a means of creating socially engaging places;

2. Involving a broad range of people in creating distinctive places;

3. Multi-anchoring providing a mix of attractions consisting of retail, dining and entertainment venues;

4. Critical mix and mass supplementing the critical mass approach with a strategic product mix aimed at drawing a wide variety of consumers;

5. Programmability achieving a high number of repeat visits from the local residents;

6. Branded identity reinforcing the identity of a project as a regional destination;

7. Re-establishing the guest experience reinforcing customer appreciation through stores, restaurants, entertainment venues and services that provide positive memories.

The Urban Land Institute is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members.