When it comes to retail design many properties are playing into these trends: identifying opportunities for enhanced brand storytelling, increasing the use of technology, creating space for pop-up shops, and the list goes on. These trends make a lot of sense, and provide a seamless experience for users, but we take it a step further.
Through a human-centered approach to retail design trends, we curate opportunities for our properties to not only become a part of the neighborhood but celebrate it. Our team thinks beyond the user and places value on the unique attributes that make up the consumers who are using our shopping centers. Through this approach we’ve deepened our relationship with the communities we are a part of and engaged retailers that appeal to evolving market needs.
John Tschiderer, our Senior Vice President, Development, shared “It’s the human experience. It’s hard to define the human experience as a trend.” A great example of this approach is looking at the Village at Shirlington. This property started as a 1940s center of small shops and restaurants.
Through continued re-investment and involvement from the community, many cultural components have been added while still maintaining a sense of place with design elements like Victorian-style lamps that line brick walkways.
Residents of Shirlington continue to remain very invested in the property. It’s a social destination, and the long-standing theater and library play an important role in the community.
“It’s the human experience. It’s hard to define the human experience as a trend.”
John Tschiderer, Senior Vice President
As we make further investments to enhance the streetscape with things like interactive sculptures and patio seating with firepit tables, these community staples will remain an important part of the neighborhood. As Richard Cataffa, Federal Realty’s Senior Director of Design, said, “The building architecture and the site/landscape features together work to frame the open sidewalk creating the place for energy, engagement, and activity. That’s where we focus our efforts most: in the sidewalk realm.”
Geoff Sharpe, Federal Realty’s Vice President, Creative Planning & Development shared, “There are some fundamental things that designers try and get right and have tried to get right through our careers, whether it’s being thoughtful about shade, and microclimate, and creating places where people want to sit and spend time. Or thinking about lighting…How does it feel safe, but still interesting and inviting? That’s not about a trend, that’s just about good design.”
Known for vibrant, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks, Bethesda Row was thoughtfully designed. Throughout the mixed-use development attention was paid to shade, identifying opportunities for people to sit and spend time, and lighting.
So as pedestrians walk the pathways throughout Bethesda Row they are not only greeted with an abundance of high-end, unique retailers, they also have the ambiance of warm string lights that serve a dual purpose.
This mixed-use center provides value for the local market, offering the convenience of many worldly choices in a beautifully designed setting with plenty of outdoor seating. We’ve found that when we provide value to our consumers in the form of design, experience, and tenant mix, we continue to see them coming back time and time again. As John Tschiderer said, “This adds up to an equation for the community, leasing, and the tenants themselves to prosper.”
At Federal Realty, we approach real estate with a mindset of continual evolution. Our goal is to ensure our retail destinations, whether it’d be a neighborhood center or a regional power center, maintain their position as the destination of choice in the communities they serve today and tomorrow.
Now Bala Cynwyd on City Avenue, just minutes outside of downtown Philadelphia, is undergoing its next iteration. The redevelopment focuses on tenant demand drivers—like outdoor gathering spaces and improved streetscapes—to remain the go-to destination for the area’s shopping, dining, and service needs. These are the types of investments we make to remain ahead of the curve.
