Completing a two-year study of over 100 US town centers and downtown districts, Marks finds fast-growing Florida markets will need 5.6 million sf to six million sf of new retail developments annually for the next seven years at least to keep up with the needs of newly arriving residents.

That number is the equivalent of five regional malls such as Mall at Millenia (1.3 million sf) and Seminole town Center (1.1 million sf), he says. Marks is president of Maitland, FL-based Marketplace Advisors Inc.

"Perhaps the greatest pressure will be for mixed-use neighborhood-sized retail facilities," he says. "We're looking at 25 to 30 new grocery-anchored neighborhood centers or super centers annually just to keep up with population growth--and that doesn't count replacement of old or outmoded retail facilities."