MIAMI—Are traditional retail malls dead? There's certainly plenty of talk about the shopping experience and lifestyle centers are hot. At the same time, major mixed-use projects are emerging with retail as a key component to offer shopper convenience in urban neighborhoods.

GlobeSt.com caught up with Shane Hillsley, managing director of Duncan Hillsley Capital—the firm that acquired Downtown Dadeland in partnership with Pebb Capital and Canyon Capital Realty Advisors, to discuss these trends in part two of this exclusive interview. You can still read part one: What Will Set Downtown Dadeland Retail Apart?

GlobeSt.com: We hear a lot about lifestyle centers in today's retail market. Why have these types of properties become so popular?

Hillsley: The rise of lifestyle retail centers has paralleled the emergence of infill and urban neighborhoods across South Florida, places like Downtown Miami, Wynwood, and Coconut Grove. Given the choice of shopping or dining in an outdoor, urban setting or an indoor mall, many consumers prefer to be in an immersive environment that feels authentic. I think this model works especially well in South Florida, where you have beautiful weather and a large suburban population that are drawn to urban nodes like Downtown Dadeland.

GlobeSt.com: To what extent are the major retail and mixed-use projects under construction in and around downtown Miami impacting your plans?

Hillsley: Because we're within reach of so many heavily-populated residential neighborhoods, we feel the consumer who visits Brickell City Centre, Wynwood, or Miami Worldcenter once a month and enjoys that urban experience will come to Downtown Dadeland a few times each week. We think of ourselves as the everyday alternative to the traditional mall, a place where families can come to relax, enjoy the outdoors, sample great food and shop in interesting stores.

GlobeSt.com: What's next for your joint venture with Pebb capital?

Hillsley: Earlier this year Duncan Hillsley and Pebb Capital created a joint venture to purchase Downtown Dadeland in partnership with Canyon Capital Realty Advisors, who provided additional equity capital for the transaction. Our JV with Pebb plans to complete additional transactions with a shared focus on acquiring assets that lend themselves to value creation, across all classes of real estate. We are pursuing a number of opportunities in Florida and the southeast US and hope to announce our next acquisition soon.