"It's the end of single-use retail," says Steiner. However, thedeveloper, whose mixed-use projects include Easton Town Center inColumbus, and Zona Rosa, in Kansas City, MO; concedes that manydevelopments with warehouse-style big boxes, like Costco and HomeDepot, will be hard to convert into multi-use projects.

The demand for areas where people can live, work and shop hasbeen created for a number of reasons, says panelist Lee Wagman, CEOof the Martin Group, of Santa Monica, CA. Younger people perceivesuch developments are more hip, compared to suburban areas, whichare considered sterile. Empty nesters need less space but want moreconvenience than the suburbs provide. Municipalities like it whenfirms are interested in redeveloping formerly blighted urban areas,while the suburbs are sprawled to their limits.

And, though having a project with multiple uses can also rewarddevelopers with higher returns, costs of building those centers arealso elevated, Wagman says. "It is much more difficult to developmultiple property sectors at the same time," he says. "You've gotto always balance the costs and the benefits."