Regency Centers Uses Crowdsourcing to Lease Baltimore Shopping Center

BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In the midst of an election year, Regency Centers Corporation (NYSE:REG) is democratizing retail leasing by asking local residents to suggest stores and restaurants they want to open at Parkville Shopping Center through an online crowdsourcing platform called Popularise. The leasing recommendations will be considered as part of the grocery-anchored center’s renovation, which has begun construction.

“The success depends upon the number of people who engage with the site and the quality of leads. We hope to uncover local or regional favorites that will add further charm to a neighborhood center that has been part of the area for more than 50 years.”

Parkville Shopping Center is a 161,734-square-foot neighborhood center anchored by Giant, which replaced and renovated a former Super Fresh. The center’s retail space is currently 93 percent leased.

Center signage and store flyers encourage shoppers to visit https://www.popularise.com/parkville to suggest preferred retail uses and business names as well as comment and vote on submissions made by others. Popularise was created last year by Washington D.C. commercial real estate investors, and brothers, Ben and Dan Miller. The site aims to encourage local communities to bring their market knowledge, ideas and support to actively shape their neighborhoods. Currently, the site features 11 commercial real estate projects, primarily urban, in four U.S. cities.

“Crowdsourcing is a new term, but asking customers about their shopping preferences has always been integral to strong tenant merchandising. Social media and new technology, like Popularise, allows us to reach more people in a nontraditional way,” said Jack deVilliers, leasing agent for center owner Regency Centers. “The success depends upon the number of people who engage with the site and the quality of leads. We hope to uncover local or regional favorites that will add further charm to a neighborhood center that has been part of the area for more than 50 years.”

Regency Senior Market Officer Alan Roth added, “Given the center’s location inside the Beltway just outside of Baltimore, leasing has never been an issue with 95 percent average occupancy over the last five years. But as we invest in this neighborhood with the center’s $1.7 million renovation and the addition of market-leading grocer Giant, we want to ensure the creation of a shopping environment that the local residents are very proud of, which includes their input on store selection.”

Built in 1961, Parkville Shopping Center was renovated in 1999, and Regency purchased the property in 2005.

The center’s remodel will include a new exterior façade and architectural elements, upgraded signage, improved landscaping and parking lot enhancements. The center design was created by Bignell Watkins Hasser Architects in Annapolis, Md. The “corrugated” metal façade will be updated with horizontal hardy plank, simulating a woodgrain finish, in earth tone colors. Tying in with the center’s heritage, a new botanical-themed logo will be added to center signage, honoring the original landowner’s donation of property for a nearby park on Taylor Avenue between Chestnut and Oak Avenues. The center logo features an acorn and leaves from Maryland’s state tree, the white oak.

The center’s businesses will remain open during the construction, which is scheduled for completion in November.

As part of Regency’s greengenuity^® program to reduce the environmental impact of developing and operating shopping centers, the project will incorporate basic sustainable elements such as recycling building materials, installing heat-reflective roof material and employing environmentally friendly LED lighting fixtures on the buildings, paint and coatings.

Regency owns and manages 40 properties, totaling 4.9 million square feet, in the Baltimore/Washington region.

Surrounded by 169,500 people in a 3-mile radius, Parkville Shopping Center is located at 7709 Harford Road in Baltimore with visibility to 20,190 vehicles daily. For property leasing information, contact Jack deVilliers at 703-442-4315.

About Regency Centers Corporation

Regency is the leading national owner, operator and developer of grocery-anchored and community shopping centers. As of June 30, 2012, the Company owned 364 retail properties, including those held in co-investment partnerships. Including tenant-owned square footage, the portfolio encompassed 49.5 million square feet located in top markets throughout the United States. Since 2000, Regency has developed 209 shopping centers, including those currently in-process, representing an investment at completion of $3.0 billion. Operating as a fully integrated real estate company, Regency is a qualified real estate investment trust that is self-administered and self-managed.

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