The International Council of Shopping Centers is hosting its largest crowd since the great recession and Bisnow is bringing it to you live from Las Vegas with some 33,000 CRE types joining in the 2013 Global Retail Real Estate Convention, known as RECon. Thousands gathered around the poolside at Bellagio Sunday afternoon (we tried to get all 30,000 in the picture, but a few brokers from El Paso kept looking the other way) to celebrate the kick-off of the event.
We stumbled into Houston's Triad Retail Construction prez Jay Dorsey near the mojito station. The bulk of his projects surround four retailers: Panda Express, Sports Authority, Best Buy, and JCPenney. Three of the four firms are flush with cash and ready to expand (we bet you can guess which one isnt). A market to watch: Puerto Rico. Hes building there for both Sports Authority and Panda Express. In the past, hes built projects there for the Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and the now-defunct Borders. He says sales per/SF are up and most retailers are seeing their Puerto Rican locations among their top-performers.
Dallas-basedRyan LLChelps reduce tax liability for real estate owners and likes to say it's one of the few companies that clientswant to get billsfrom, since they usually charge just based on success. We also like their motto: "Innovative Solutions toTaxing Problems."
This Orlando-based company builds pay-to-participate attractions likeroller coasters, wind tunnels, andFerris wheels. It's done 300, which cost anywhere from$1M to way more, like that "poler coaster" behind them, that's being constructed 325 feet above Myrtle Beach. Tell them we sent you and they said we get a big referral fee. Thank you in advance.
We're glad we don't have to hunt for our food. We don't even know where sandwiches live. Send your news to Catie Dixon, catie@bisnow.com.
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