The comment about the dysfunctional nature of traditionalstand-alone malls came from panelist Shaheen Sadeghi, founder ofCosta Mesa, CA-based LAB Holding, a firm that eschews traditionalmalls in favor of projects like its youth-oriented "the Lab" inCosta Mesa, a center that the developer describes as an"anti-mall."

The five-member panel, moderated by managing principal andpresident Greg Vilkin of San Francisco-based MacFarlane Partners,agreed that the heyday of the freestanding mall surrounded bysurface parking is long gone and that the remodeling, repositioningand razing of existing malls that has occurred in recent years willonly continue. The gist of much of the discussion was thatstand-alone malls as they developed during the suburban boom inAmerica during the past 50 years have run their course, butmixed-use developments including shopping venues as one part of themix are the way of the future.

The heart of the matter is not so much that retail developerstoday are planning retail spaces, "It's more about urban planning,"commented panelist Yaromir Steiner, chief executive officer ofColumbus, OH-based Steiner + Associates. Steiner said that much ofthe redevelopment of existing shopping centers and the building ofnew centers today amounts to urban planning because it involves somuch more than just the retail component of a project.