The Overarching Theme of ICSC

ORLANDO—The dust is settling on the ICSC Florida Conference & Deal Making event in Orlando and commercial real estate brokers are bullish on what they saw and heard. The retail conference shined a light on a sizzling state that's got the retailers' attention.

"Florida is a very important economic engine for the U.S. and for our industry," says Naveen Jaggi, president of American retail brokerage services for JLL, who delivered the conference's Florida Retail Report on Monday. “And in 2014, it exceeded New York as the country's third most populous state.”

While nearly all of Florida retail has stabilized in occupancies and rents, South Florida remains the star. Vacancy rates here have dropped to a miniscule 3.3% in Miami.

According to the report, much of the new construction or renovation is pegged for Downtown Miami street-retail spots including Brickell CityCentre, which plans 500,000 of retail in it first-phase retail. There's also the artsy Miami Design District, where developer Dacra has converted 15 defunct warehouses into space for 50 trendy retailers, restaurants and galleries and is shaping 20 more for 50 additional tenants.

The Forbes Co. and Taubman Centers are developing the 765,000-square-foot Mall at Miami Worldcenter there as well. Macy's and Bloomingdale's will anchor the center.

GlobeSt.com turned to Michael T. Fay, a principal at Avison Young, to get his thoughts on the event. He told us the overarching theme throughout ICSC was, “It's good to be back!”

“Enthusiasm abounds as ICSC attendees departed from the conference due to the retail market trending in such a good direction in terms of deal activity,” Fay says. “With cap rates on a steady decrease, the buying spree is back on in spite of a continuing fluid economic marketplace and the fluctuating nature of consumer confidence.”

Fay sees retailers eyeing key markets with strong demographics for expansion or new-to-market activity. He sys Florida, and in particular, South Florida remains a tremendous retail litmus test based on its multicultural offerings allowing businesses to better scale.

“Majority of the groups purchasing today are being drawn to shopping centers as they shed lower-tier properties that no longer fit into portfolio or target asset class,” Fay says. “Instead, these investors interested in trading 'value for quality' in terms of complementary tenant mix or location.”