ORANGE COUNTY, CA—Retail is the next logical CRE powerhouse asset class, Brower, Miller & Cole's CEO Judy Brower Fancher tells GlobeSt.com. Fancher will be moderating the panel “Striding Forward: Developers and Retailers Share What's Next for Orange County” during RealShare Orange County on August 18. In this exclusive preview to the event, we caught up with Brower Fancher for an exclusive discussion about what attendees can expect from the session and why retail has such strong fundamentals for future growth.

GlobeSt.com: Why did you feel a retail panel made sense now for Orange County?

Brower Fancher: Based on everything we hear from our clients throughout the commercial real estate industry, retail will be the next darling for capital investment. Investors chasing yield are having a tougher time finding what they are seeking in the office, industrial and multifamily sectors. Retail, which was definitely the last category to climb out of the last recession, hasn't seen the big pricing adjustment that the other sectors have had. With retail recovering, the time is ripe for investors to reap extremely compelling returns on retail properties, from strip centers through repositioned regional malls.

GlobeSt.com: Retailers are continuing to focus on innovative ways to approach the shopping center physically and through their offerings. What do you expect your retail panelists to reveal on this topic?

Brower Fancher: My panelists represent a great mix of developers, including one creating the Downtown redevelopment in Santa Ana into the hip and beloved 4^th St. Market, another who is repositioning the major South Orange County Laguna Hills regional mall and a third who represents the Irvine Co.'s dozens of community centers throughout Central Orange County. With such a diversity of geography, product type and solution, just hearing about the projects the panelists are working on will provide a lot of information for the audience about innovations in the retail industry. I'm not going to give any spoilers—I'd like people to come and hear about it from the developers and owners directly.

GlobeSt.com: You've worked with dozens of developers and retailers throughout your career. Based on that history, what are you seeing that's new?

Brower Fancher: We're coming full circle—in the best way. Retail centers of all types, including those our firm has worked with throughout the US, are returning to their roots as friend, family and community gathering places. The impact of online shopping is being mitigated by the amazing real-life, active, vibrant dining, shopping and entertainment centers now being created by developers and retailers alike. Visit any shopping center in Orange County on a Saturday and you can't easily find a parking spot. People are returning to the livelier-than-ever centers in droves—and they're buying goods and services and food.

GlobeSt.com: As you moderate this panel and look toward the future, what do you expect from retailers and developers moving forward?

Brower Fancher: On both the owner/developer side and the retailer side, I anticipate increased technology from digital integrations, from better just-in-time inventory solutions to more interactive social experiences in shopping centers. When our firm recommended that Vestar “fix” its vast parking-lot challenge by piping in fun music, which they did, that was forward-thinking at the time. Now, at the next center we work on, I'd be more likely to recommend things like “shopper spokesperson” videos in the parking lot, with on-site customers getting to show off what they just bought or talk about what delicious food they just had and have it broadcast to those who are just entering. We have such an exciting time ahead. I can't wait to hear what my panelists have to share.