"Jordan Creek Town Center is the finest example of what the future of shopping represents," says chief executive officer John Bucksbaum during the company's second-quarter conference call. "We're responding to what the retailers desire and what the customers desire."

Jordan Creek Town Center opens Aug. 4 96% leased, but not because demand is lacking. The second-largest US retail REIT has opened its last three developments 100% leased, but decided to deliberately hold back about 60,000 sf in light of "tremendous interest" in the remaining space, says president and chief operating officer Robert Michaels.

In addition to a center that includes six sit-down restaurants with the potential for two more, Jordan Creek Town Center also includes a series of big-box retailers, including Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Costco, Old Navy and the Market, the Des Moines area's version of Whole Foods. Surrounding Jordan Creek is a Marriott Hotel, an amphitheater that hosts the local symphony, a 10-acre lake and a connection to the city's system of bicycle paths. "This is not your parents' mall," Bucksbaum says.

Construction financing was done internally, Bucksbaum notes, using undistributed funds from operations-—the REIT has dished out less than half its FFO for five straight years--and proceeds from sales of other properties to build Jordan Creek Town Center, the largest of nine developments it is building.

Michaels expects discount club Costco to become an anchor at other shopping malls. Another atypical move was adding Wal-Mart at a Jackson, MI mall where Montgomery Ward's had vacated an anchor location. "When we had the opportunity to buy the building back, we immediately went to Wal-Mart," says Michaels, noting General Growth Properties does a large amount of business with another discounter, Target Corp.