DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COMMITTEE
	TO:	Mayor and Members of Council
	FROM:	Jim Baird, Commissioner of Development Services Valerie Shuttleworth, Director of Planning & Urban Design
	PREPARED BY:	Elisabeth Silva Stewart, Senior Policy Planner
	DATE OF MEETING:	2005-Mar-01
	SUBJECT:	Lifestyle Centres

RECOMMENDATION:

That the report dated March 1, 2005, entitled “Lifestyle Centres” be received;

And that Committee consider the merits of visiting a number of Lifestyle Centre sites in the United States, with a view to identifying current best practices for commercial and mixed use development;

And, should Committee see merit in a study tour, that staff be directed to organize a tour for interested members of the Markham Centre Steering Committee and the Commercial Policy Review Sub-Committee (or other identified Members of Development Services Committee) to visit leading examples of such Lifestyle Centres;

And that staff report back on budget implications, a proposed tour outline and possible dates.

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to describe what Lifestyle Centres are, how they differ from conventional retail developments and discuss which Lifestyle Centres may be of interest to visit.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Some members of the Commercial Policy Review Sub-Committee have expressed an interest in better understanding the “Lifestyle Centre” concept of retail development. Lifestyle centres are a new format of shopping centre and mixed use developments that have evolved as outdoor retail environments that combine architecturally distinctive “Main Street” shopping with outdoor programming activities and events, parks and entertainment venues. Larger format stores, if included are given a less visually predominant anchor role. “On street” parking is often associated with the main street retailing and structured parking has been incorporated into some of the newer lifestyle plans.

These centres are geared to upscale consumers with upscale retailers, restaurants, and entertainment. Some centres also include residential uses. Physically they are open-air, pedestrian-friendly, and incorporate architectural features such as fountains, sidewalks, walking trails, lots of public seating, statues and vintage style street lamps to name a few common elements. They are designed to imitate a ‘main street’, a ‘downtown’, or a ‘village square’. These elements combine to create a good space for ‘gathering’, and are often used to host public events. Programming activities are an essential component of lifestyle centres.

These retail centres have been evolving and, where they used to be very linear (strip format) in design with no large scale retail anchors (only smaller specialty stores), hybrids have been introduced which incorporate retail anchors, and even big box stores in a town centre design. As lifestyle centres evolve they have also been introducing additional uses creating a mixed use community hub in the process.

Lifestyle centres are concentrated in the United States. However, Canada already is home to one, the Village at Park Royal in British Columbia, and there has been much discussion in the media about the proposed redevelopment of the Don Mills Town Centre (Don Mills Road and Lawrence Avenue in Toronto) into a hybrid lifestyle centre.

In the United States, there are some developers who specialize in lifestyle centres, such as Poag & McEwan which originally coined the term ‘lifestyle centre’.

There are several sites which have been recommended as sites worth visiting. Those which are located in northern climates include: Clarendon Market Commons (Washington DC area); Easton Town Centre (Columbus Ohio); Legacy Village (Cleveland, Ohio); Crocker Park (Cleveland, Ohio); The Glen (Chicago Area); and Old Orchard (Chicago Area).

BACKGROUND:

On May 11, 2004 Council received and confirmed a list of Strategic Priorities and Actions associated with each priority for 2004 to 2006. Strategic Priority No.2 is to create a better quality community. Action No.3 is to “shift planning policies to discourage auto-oriented big-box retail development and encourage pedestrian friendly retail activity and mixed land uses at community focal points”.

Staff gave a short presentation on August 4, 2004 to the Town’s Commercial Policy Review Sub-Committee regarding a recent trend occurring in the United States involving the emergence of ‘lifestyle centres’.

Having a look first hand at how US ‘lifestyle centres’ are bridging the gap between the auto-oriented retail development and pedestrian-friendly retail with mixed land use environments would identify current best practices of how this model of retail development can present a viable alternative to address Council’s Strategic Priority No.2, Action No.3.

OPTIONS/DISCUSSION:

What are Lifestyle Centres?

The ‘Lifestyle Centre’ was originally a term coined by one of the first developers of this format of retail shopping centre, Poag and McEwen, with its Shops at Saddle Creek in the Memphis Tennessee Area in 1987 (Figure1).

Figure 1 - Shops at Saddle Creek, Memphis, TN

The lifestyle centre concept combines higher end retailers, with upscale restaurants and entertainment. The physical design of the typical lifestyle centre is pedestrian-oriented in an open-air (outside) environment with higher quality design features not normally found in the traditional enclosed shopping centres or even the new outdoor power centre we are familiar with. These architectural elements include fountains, sidewalks, walking trails, vintage style street lamps, street furniture and highly articulated façade and store front treatments. The centres try to capture the ‘main street’, ‘downtown’ feel. Figure 2 includes examples of these design elements.

The physical design attempts to capture a space which ‘functions’ as a higher order public gathering space. The design objectives for these centres are consumer driven and cater to the “gathering” amenity needs of the public as opposed to only those which are tenant driven and cater to the design requirements of the tenants. This in turn puts the greater emphasis on designing with features such as public art, outdoor public seating placement, attention to landscaping and pedestrian-friendly outdoor space.

The upscale physical look and feel has been essential in attracting an upscale clientele, as the centres cater primarily to the more affluent neighbourhoods of urban centres.

Lifestyle Centres are evolving

The lifestyle centre has been evolving. In the early days, most lifestyle centres usually functioned without department store anchors. Instead of depending on one or two anchors for the mall, they switched to finding the right mix of stores, food and entertainment. These lifestyle centres typically had a strip format/linear layout with parking lots in front. These centres have the ability to host events such as concerts, or other civic type gatherings, and usually have restaurants and cinemas, but that is the extent of the entertainment component.

	ß Public sidewalks, with enhanced landscaping and lots of seating. Seating under the shade of trees available. Higher architectural design (eg. cupolas, vintage lighting). Public art (statue) adds to the design component of this public outdoor space. à
	ß The use of amenities like public fountains are standard design features. Open space provides opportunities for “gathering”. Outdoor concerts engage the public. à
	ß Clock Tower adds a community focal point. Restaurants are a standard feature. This restaurant has outdoor seating by the boulevard. à
	ß Pavilions add architectural interest and additional covered seating. Boulevards provide opportunities for animated street life and a ‘main street’ feel. à
Figure 2 – Examples of design elements

Figure 3 illustrates a typical site plan layout of these early centres. This site plan belongs to The Avenue Peachtree City, Georgia, USA. The center circle is a feature set within the parking layout that functions as a focus to the mainly strip/linear pattern of stores. The centre functions as a “town square”.

Figure 3 – Example of site plan of a lifestyle centre

Centres are now emerging (sometimes called hybrid lifestyle centres) which combine traditional mall tenants including department store anchors, and may even include big-box retailers, and cinemas in this new environment. This is especially the case with the town center type of lifestyle centres. The layout of this emerging hybrid is also a bit different because it follows additional urban design guidelines. Town centre lifestyle centres have a very strong leisure component which helps them function as the ‘hub’ of the community. Leisure activities include theatres, nightclubs, bars, etc. Residential, office and hotel uses are also key components in town centre lifestyle centres. Figure 4, illustrates the typical site plan for one of these town centre lifestyle centre sites. It belongs to Crocker Park in Westlake Ohio (near Cleveland). This pattern is more ‘mainstreet’ in layout and in function, as there are residential uses above the mainstreet stores. This is a mixed use project which incorporates retail and services along with office, residential, and entertainment uses. Longer visit parking is addressed by the provision of parking garages behind the main streets. On-street parking in front of stores is a critical element to delivering the look and feel of traditional main street environments.

Figure 4 – Example of site plan of a ‘hybrid’ town centre lifestyle centre

Many of the earlier lifestyle centres were primarily upscale retail focused with some entertainment opportunities incorporated (typically cinemas). However, the newer projects integrate multiple uses to help create a more vibrant community environment.

“The larger trend emerging goes beyond a new breed of shopping centre as developers strive to create vibrant retail destinations where people can live, work, play and of course, shop…...The trend is to replicate that traditional city centre environment with the shopping centre. A key component is that the lifestyle centre is bringing a mix of uses such as residential development, office space, hotels, churches, or municipal facilities to create a hub of activity.” Urban Land, Feb 2004

Adding a variety of components is now seen as essential to the success of these sites, with residential uses surfacing as a significant component. This is because many people are choosing to live close to shops and services nearby. These new town squares provide this opportunity. They become more like a community than a retail project. They are also much more complicated to develop than traditional retail-only centres from a financing, design, construction and maintenance/management perspective.

The overall size of Lifestyle Centres tends to range from between 120,000 square feet and 500,000 square feet. While there are lifestyle centres smaller and larger than this range such as The Shoppes at Union Hill with 88,000 square feet and The Summit Birmingham with 760,000 square feet.

Where are they?

Almost all Lifestyle Centres are located within the United States. Both the northern and southern states have been recipients of these centres. The northern climate does not appear to be a deterrent in their development. Affluence is a greater determinant of where these centres are spread throughout the United States, because they cater to the upscale consumer.

The chart in Appendix A contains a listing of Lifestyle Centres within the United States and was compiled by the International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC). This list is already out of date, as many more Lifestyle Centres have opened recently and are not included on this list (such as Crocker Park shown in Figure 4 above which opened recently). As can been seen by the list, although the Lifestyle Centre has been around for some time, this retail model has seen tremendous growth in the past five years.

To date, Canada only has one Lifestyle Centre – Village at Park Royal in British Columbia (Figure 5).

Figure 5 - Village at Park Royal, West Vancouver, BC

There has been some discussion in the media of the Don Mills Town Centre in Toronto, re-developing into a hybrid Lifestyle Centre which will combine the traditional enclosed shopping centre with an outdoor streetscape-style layout. The plans for the site also include the introduction of residential units, as well as office space, a hotel, a spa, a fine arts gallery and a fitness club. Apparently it will have a distinctly Canadian design using elements from Ontario’s architectural heritage. They are also looking at a variety of parking options which include parking in front of some stores for short visits as well as using a parking area for the longer visits. Fram Development Corporation is leading the redevelopment (Fram is also a partner in the Cathedral Village development in Markham). The City of Toronto Planning Department is already in receipt of the proposal for the site and the proposal is still under review.

Who is developing Lifestyle Centres

There are some developers in the United States who specialize in the development of lifestyle centres. These include:

• Poag & McEwan (Aspen Grove, Deer Park Town Center, Shops at Saddle Creek)
• Steiner (CocoWalk, Easton Town Center, Zona Rosa, Greene Towne Center)
• Madisson Marquette (Bay Street Emeryville, Old Hyde Park Village, Suburban Square)
• Developers Diversified Realty (Town Center Plaza, Deer Park Town Center)

• McCaffery Interests (Market Common Clarendon, Streets of Woodfield)
• Cousins Properties (Avenue Peachtree, Avenue East Cobb, Avenue West Cobb)
• Bayer Properties (The Summit Birmingham, The Summit Louisville)
• Jeffrey Anderson Real Estate (Algonquin Commons, Geneva Commons, Rookwood Commons)
• Federal Realty Investment Trust (Santana Row, Pentagon Row, Bethesda Row)

Which Lifestyle Centres are worth a visit?

Staff has asked developers and consultants doing business with the Town, which Lifestyle Centres might be worth a visit. As well, staff undertook extensive research of our own. While suggestions came in for many areas of the United States including Florida and California, staff feel it is important to visit centres constructed in climates similar to our own. Suggested lifestyle centres to visit in the Chicago, Cleveland, Washington DC areas include:

• Clarendon Market Commons (Washington DC area),
• Easton Town Centre (Columbus Ohio),
• Pentagon Row (Washington DC area),
• Legacy Village (Cleveland, Ohio), Crocker Park (Cleveland, Ohio),
• The Glen (Chicago Area), and/or possibly
• Old Orchard (Chicago Area).

Although Bethesda Row and Reston Town Center, in the Washington D.C. are also worthy of a visit, these sites were included in a previous Markham Centre based tour (2001), and have, therefore been excluded from this suggested list.

Staff have mapped these recommended sites along with other sites listed in the ICSC listing for selected metropolitan areas of Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, and Washington DC area (Appendix B). These represent sites which are located in centres which experience cooler winter temperatures much like the Town of Markham. Appendix C provides website addresses for these sites. The recommended sites in warmer climates such as California and Florida have not been mapped.

Why Visit?

There are benefits in seeing first hand how these centres are operating in the United States. How they are dealing with parking, and what sorts of public amenities are incorporated into the design of these “lifestyle centres”, how these centres promote community-focused environments could provide ideas to incorporate on some of the Town’s future commercial areas. Seeing how these centres are functioning may provide us with ideas on how to deal with shifting from auto-oriented pedestrian-unfriendly retail environments to something that provides for both. Given that many of them are locating within the core of new town centres, Markham could benefit from seeing how these formats relate to Town Centre environments.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Should Committee wish staff to proceed to organize a trip, a budget will be determined. Currently the Commission’s 2005 Budget does not include provision for a trip of this nature.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

None at this time.

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

None at this time.

ENGAGE 21^ST CONSIDERATIONS:

The recommendations of this report are consistent with Corporate Goal No.4 “Managed Growth” and will contribute to well-planned retail services to be provided to the residents of the new urban areas within the Town of Markham.

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

None at this time.

ATTACHMENTS:

Appendix A – ICSC List of Lifestyle Centres in the United States

Appendix B – Lifestyle Centres in Selected Metropolitan Areas of the United States

Appendix C – Suggested Lifestyle Centre Websites

Valerie Shuttleworth, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Director of Planning & Urban Design

Jim Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Commissioner of Development Services

Q:\Development\Planning\MISC\MI491 Commercial Policy Review 2004\Reports\Lifestyle centres report march 1.doc