BALTIMORE-Social media and other Internet-based technologies have been slow in joining together with commercial real estate--but signs are there that the twain are soon to meet. However, the early adopters are proceeding cautiously, at least if Regency Centers is any indication. The REIT is using a crowdsourcing platform and its Facebook page to fill out the remaining space at a local retail center that is 93% occupied.

Does it think it will succeed? “It is too early to tell,” Regency Senior Market Officer Alan Roth tells GlobeSt.com. “That's why we're starting out with only one property.”

The REIT is using a platform called Popularise at the 161,734-square-foot Parkville Shopping Center, which is anchored by a Giant food store. Local residents go online to suggest retailers they would like to see take the remaining space. Popularise was created last year by Washington, DC-based commercial real estate investors and brothers Ben and Dan Miller. Currently, the site features 11 commercial real estate projects.

It is an interesting concept--and one likely to yield engagement from local shoppers--but will it actually lead to signed leases? One can imagine that some of the suggestions are for retailers not suitable to the market. Also, even if the suggested retailer fits the space needs and vice versa, who is to say a deal on the many items that make up a retail lease can be successfully negotiated?

For instance, Roth says Regency has already received suggestions for a Trader Joe’s and Wal-Mart at the shopping center—both unrealistic possibilities. That said, the flow of suggestions is solidifying ideas that the REIT already had for the space, according to Roth. Also, he says, the suggestions can be telling about demand in a local area, even if nothing comes of them.

“If we get suggestions for a lot of restaurants and none of them work out, at least we know that there's strong demand for a restaurant at that space,” he says. “We actually are finding more benefits to using this than we anticipated.”