Rai Muhlbauer, AIA, LEED AP // Director of Business Development, Architecture
BL Companies established itself through its focus on the retail market. As one of our three primary markets, the retail market has evolved over time to encompass Retail, Commercial and Residential submarkets, which are all closely interrelated and directly impact one another. As a result of our focus on the retail market, BL has been a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) for many years as a platform for networking, learning, and forecasting what we can expect in the retail marketplace.
It’s fair to say, we were also ahead of our time. Over a dozen years ago, BL included the commercial market in our retail focus, and in 2014, we added the residential market as we realized how closely connected and impactful each is on the other. Since 2014, we have recognized the need to combine the interrelated submarkets into what we call the Retail/Commercial/Residential (R/C/R) market. ICSC on the other hand, held firm to its retail roots until as recently as 2022, when their focus expanded to include commercial and residential markets, which are now so often seen in mixed-use developments, or in very close proximity to one another. In recognition of their expanded view, they have reimagined their brand and included a new slogan that also relates to the “ICSC” abbreviation: “Innovating Commerce Serving Communities”.
Our participation in the ICSC includes various regional, national, and international events. Primarily, we attend dealmaking conferences, whose purpose is to create a forum for the retailers, developers, property owners and financial institutions to meet and initiate or close on real estate deals. These conferences require a great deal of preparation and hard work since you may have noticed that “design firms” was not included among the four main participants noted above. Yet over the years BL Companies has learned to use these events as opportunities to meet with our clients, learn about pending deals and new opportunities, and discover new retailers. Occasionally, we are even invited to attend some of the dealmaking meetings, whether to share our insights, or to present a concept plan that may help a client close a deal.
The largest of the regional conferences is ICSC New York, which was just held on December 7th & 8th and included 11,000 attendees. The largest annual conference is ICSC Las Vegas, an international event which will be held next May 21st to 23rd and will likely attract over 40,000 attendees. Along with the smaller regional conferences, these make up the bulk of our participation within the ICSC framework. However, there is another ICSC forum that is focused on the design and construction side of the industry rather than dealmaking.
Centerbuild is focused on the designers, contractors, property owners and vendors that serve the retail marketplace. It is attended by many of our competitors, but even they are open to sharing industry knowledge. Unlike the dealmaking shows, Centerbuild is formatted as a networking, educational, and information sharing forum. It presents an excellent opportunity to network, especially with our clients, but also with retailers and peers in a more relaxed setting since this is not a dealmaking event. It is also an important show for sharing knowledge, staying current with industry trends, and gaining insights into the future of the retail industry, which now includes insights into commercial, and residential components as well. As a company of nearly 400 employee owners with a national reach, BL Companies is now among the firms that others look to for knowledge of the industry and its forecasting. Centerbuild is a primary source for gathering and sharing that knowledge.
The conference is packed with networking events, masterclasses, roundtables, ideation events and keynote addresses. We always participate by facilitating roundtables, or as presenters in a masterclass. In 2019 I was a presenter in a masterclass that was attended by over 400 people. It resulted in the publication of a book by the presenters and other industry experts called Vertical Villages – the Magic of Mixed-Use Developments, available on Amazon. I included a chapter on BL’s Storrs Center mixed-use design. When we proposed our “mixed-use” masterclass in 2019, it was accepted as an early indication of ICSC’s expanding boundaries into commercial and residential markets. Our attendance and participation in Centerbuild events create the opportunity to assert BL Companies and our brand as a leader in the retail / commercial / residential marketplace. It is important that when we attend, we take a lead role to demonstrate our expertise by hosting roundtables or presenting in a masterclass.
Our participation in ICSC events – both dealmaking and educational – will continue to help us stay current with the marketplace, network with clients and industry peers, and assert our expertise and our brand in the Retail / Commercial / Residential markets.