Creating Community Gathering Places By Eric Hohmann M any enclosed malls that once dominated the retail landscape are spiraling downward—no longer considered the heart of their communities and no longer a place to gather socially. Their interior spaces are empty because stores have closed and prospective tenants are scared off by the absence of shoppers. To reverse this trend, landlords and owners must think creatively about to how populate their interior centers with events and activities that bring back the community. Ron Sher, an accomplished developer and entrepreneur in the Seattle area, has created a model for how to re-engage the community. He borrowed a concept from Ray Oldenburg's book, "The Great Good Place" which discussed the hierarchy of "places" and described the "third place" as where the whole community gathers. In 1998, Ron Sher opened "Third Place Books" in Lake Forest Park Towne Centre—an independent bookstore with nearly half of the 26,000 foot space devoted to community events. The community soon flocked to the location and today there are over 800 events each year that draw 100,000 total attendees. Ron learned early though that it was not an "if you build it, they will come" proposition. He and his team spent many months courting local arts groups, medical centers, senior centers and charities to host events and activities that centralized community activities—and grew sales. Several best practices have emerged and been adopted by Madison Marquette in its successful enclosed mall activation efforts: Free: Event sponsors and attendees should not be charged for their use of the space. Adaptable: Common areas need to be flexible to accommodate many different uses, from musical events to community meetings. Conductor: There needs to be one person responsible for coordinating events and taking the pulse of the community and the groups utilizing the space. Private space: There should be an area where groups can meet in private, ideally in a glass enclosure so that it preserves the area's sense of activity. Nominal fees can be charged for use of these rooms. Connected: Work to connect the events to additional offerings including food courts, child play areas and other amenities. Hands-off: While events should be coordinated, they cannot be over-managed or scripted which will take away the character and spontaneity that is required for success. The key to activating interior space is to help it grow organically by forging close relationships and gaining commitment from community partners—public, private and not-for-profit. These groups are the heart and soul of the community and all efforts must be made to reach out to them and bring them into the process of designing a program that will be tailored to the individual needs of the community. Eric Hohmann is a Managing Director in our San Francisco office. He can be reached at (415) 277-6800 or eric.hohmann@madisonmarquette.com. P 8 Ways to Activate a Center Eric Hohmann Managing Director Eric is Managing Director of Investments and is responsible for sourcing, negotiating and closing property acquisitions in Northern California. With over 20 years of real estate investment experience, he has completed real estate transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $1 billion. Eric has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Vanderbilt University and an MBA in Finance from John Anderson Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles.