Retail completions have averaged less than 1% of supply since 2009, according to CBRE, but that doesn’t mean nothing new is being built. New retail space most often is tied to larger mixed-use projects with office and residential; to transit stations or to supermarkets.

1. Town Centers Serving Master-Planned Residential Communities

Toro Development is working on the 43-acre, mixed-use Medley at Johns Creek Town Center near Atlanta. Medley is one component of a 192-acre master-planned community on the site of a former office park. Medley will include 200,000 square feet for retail, restaurants and entertainment concepts, 900 townhomes and multifamily units, and 110,000 square feet of office. Construction will run through 2027.

2. Stalled Projects Reviving Post-Pandemic

Cullinan Properties broke ground on Joliet, Illinois’ 2 million-square-foot Rock Run Crossings in in 2019. Then the pandemic hit. But completion is on the horizon now that Penn Entertainment’s Hollywood Casino Joliet plans to relocate from nearby Aurora to anchor the property. Casino construction will begin in late 2023, subject to local regulatory approval. Its estimated budget is $185 million, and it will combine state-of-the-art gaming with high-quality dining options and 10,000-square-feet of meeting and event space. The rest of Rock Run Crossings will include 500,000 square feet of retail and dining, 200,000 square feet of entertainment, 150,000 square feet of office, a hotel and multifamily.

3. Transit-Oriented Redevelopments

Hines and USAA Real Estate broke ground on the first phase of Riverwalk San Diego, a 200-acre transit-oriented mixed-use development that will rise on the site of a golf course in the city’s Mission Valley. It will provide 152,000 square feet of retail, 4,300 apartment units and 1 million square feet of office. The first phase, set to deliver in 2025, involves 930 apartments and a 75,000-square-foot, supermarket-anchored retail center. Ultimately, a San Diego Metropolitan Transit System Green Line trolley stop and a town square will anchor Riverwalk. When finished, it will include 100 acres of green space, including a 60-acre regional park straddling the San Diego River.

4. New Urbanist Main Street Communities in Suburbs

Construction is well underway on Hughes Investments’ BridgeWay Station in Mauldin, South Carolina, near Greenville. The project broke ground in April 2021 and will open in early 2023. It’ll feature 69,939 square feet of retail, 210,824 square feet of residential, 81,000 square feet of charter school space, 75,000 square feet of office, 24,691 square feet of plaza and pavilion public space and five acres of parks. Anchors will include a 13,500-square-foot, two-level beer garden-meets-food hall concept from Dine Development Group. Called City Market at BridgeWay Station, it will offer 100 beers and five casual food concepts: Bourbon St. Burgers, Flying Philly, American Taco, The Market and Crazy Cow Creamery.

5. Drive-Thru Food-Anchored Spec Properties in High-Growth Areas

Knapp Properties is developing an $8 million, 18,900-square-foot multitenant retail property on an empty parcel near a Hy-Vee supermarket in Waukee, Iowa. The building includes room for 12 tenants, including a 7,000-square-foot restaurant with a drive-thru. Construction will kick off this fall and deliver in the summer.