December 15, 2025 by John Krukowski

'A Lot Of Love': Why A Partnership Approach Is Key To Vibrant Retail Centers

Photo: Courtesy of Regency Centers

Blakeney Town Center in Charlotte

On paper, Blakeney Town Center is a 543K SF retail property with more than 80 tenants serving an upscale customer base in Charlotte.

On the ground, it is a bustling retail destination that is nearly 100% occupied and attracts more than 7 million visitors annually. To many of those people, the shopping, dining and event center is more than a place to make a Target run or stock up on groceries at Harris Teeter. 

To them, it is a place that fulfills many needs — something that was clear to Andre Koleszar, Southeast managing director for Regency Centers, on one of his first visits to Blakeney Town Center. 

On an ordinary weekday afternoon, he said the property was buzzing with foot traffic, including people grabbing lunch at one of its many dining options, attending a fitness center, or taking advantage of a nice day at one of its outdoor greenspaces or activity areas.

“This place truly is a community hub,” Koleszar said. “Seeing all that activity, I had to think, ‘We’re doing something right.’”

It isn’t an isolated example. Public REIT Regency Centers is the owner, developer and operator of nearly 500 shopping centers nationwide that generate a combined annual revenue of $1.5B, with each property exhibiting the vibe that was so evident to Koleszar at Blakeney.

A curated tenant mix, thoughtful design and activated spaces are all vital to a retail development’s success. But in conversations with Regency’s regional leaders, it becomes clear it is the company’s relationships with key stakeholders — tenants, investors, shoppers and surrounding communities — that help it stay on top of a competitive retail landscape.

“It’s more important than ever to view retail as a partnership,” said Jack deVilliers, Northeast managing director. “Consumers, tenants and landlords make up an ecosystem that is really important, and which Regency works hard to foster.”

To learn how Regency brings that philosophy to life, Bisnow spoke with deVilliers and colleagues about the efforts that go into being a true retail partner. They described trends they see in consumer behavior, the advantages of the grocery-anchored shopping center model, and how the company’s umbrella partnership real estate investment trust structure, or UPREIT, allows it to continue to grow through acquisitions that fit its culture and formula for success.

In all of those areas, they said an attention to detail, staying attuned to partners’ needs and a passion for the work are vital to success.

“A retail center is a lot of work,” said John Mehigan, Regency Centers’ West region senior vice president of investments. “We have 475-plus of them, and each of them requires a lot of love.”

Answering An Important Question Every Day

Retail success “doesn’t just happen automatically,” deVilliers said. It demands a strategic, hands-on approach to consistently meet the needs of customers, tenants and other partners.

“I give our Regency team so much credit,” he said. “They wake up every day thinking of retail shopping centers, and that matters.”

What they might be thinking of is summed up by what deVilliers called “the 3 C’s” of retail customer needs: convenience, connection and community. He explained that consumers continue to expect to be able to get in and out of a shopping center quickly to easily cross items off of their lists, if that is their goal.

But they also seek a degree of connection to others in what many see as an increasingly isolated world, and want to feel a sense of community that they might not find elsewhere. 

“Especially postpandemic, I think people want their shopping, dining, wellness and social moments to all exist together,” he said. 

Brick-and-mortar retail is uniquely positioned to meet these needs, which is one reason physical stores continue to account for about three-quarters of U.S. retail sales, even after some had warned of a “retail apocalypse” due to the rise of e-commerce during the pandemic. 

But long before lockdown and the non-apocalypse, Regency was creating retail experiences that transcended those of traditional shopping centers, often thought of as plain-vanilla retail strips fronted by large parking lots. 

Regency does not do generic centers like those, said Krista Di Iaconi, Mid-Atlantic managing director.

“Placemaking, design and merchandising have been a part of Regency’s DNA for a long time now,” she said. 

Photo: Courtesy of Regency Centers

Westbard Square, Bethesda, Maryland

Di Iaconi pointed to Regency’s Fresh Look program, which seeks to create best-in-class retail environments that are tailored to local communities. Fresh Look’s pillars include:

— local merchants and top national retailers that are hand-selected to meet the needs of area shoppers; 

— a shopping environment that complements its community by providing walkable places where local consumers will want to shop, dine and gather;

— and community connections formed through special events, charitable initiatives, social media best practices and other activities to create a stronger bond between retailers and shoppers.

“This approach has been very successful for our partners and us,” Di Iaconi said. “It benefits the landlord and the tenant when we create these spaces where the community connects.”

Di Iaconi happened to speak with Bisnow on a day she was working at Westbard Square, a 22-acre property in Bethesda, Maryland, that Regency has reinvented as a community gathering place as well as a retail center.

“We have a central green area here where I see people sitting in Adirondack chairs, drinking their coffee or bringing their dog or their kids to play on the green,” she said. “I think they like the mix we provide: the convenience of getting the things done that they need to get done, but also an experience and a place to connect with their community.”

As deVilliers noted, an atmosphere like that doesn’t just happen. Regency is well aware that retailers invest a great deal of money into their spaces. As a result, they need a “true partnership” with a landlord with similar values who will work to make sure people continue to visit, he said.

Di Iaconi said this requires the Regency team to continually ask: Why should people come to our center, and why should we be their first choice?

“We have some formidable competitors, but I think we've been a leader in terms of thoughtful placemaking,” she said. “It comes down to our partnerships with our retailers and listening to them about what they need for their business, being responsive, and creating convenience and a really nice experience for the customer.”

Food and beverage continues to be Regency’s top retail category, but Di Iaconi said wellness fills a growing niche at its centers. This is evident in the selection of health-focused products available at its centers’ grocery store anchors but also in a tenant mix that can include boutique fitness centers, urgent care or other businesses offering wellness amenities. 

“Our merchandising mirrors the priorities of our community members,” she said. “Health and wellness are huge priorities today, particularly in the communities where our centers are located, which are highly educated, highly affluent suburbs.”

This is a trend Regency expects to continue into 2026 and beyond.

“Tenants and programming that promote wellness have a big gravitational pull, and I don't see it slowing down,” deVilliers said. “With an aging population and social media converging, you’re going to see more growth in this category.”

‘Tide Has Definitely Shifted’

Health and wellness tenants are natural complements to grocery stores, and Koleszar, of Regency’s Southeast region, said grocery anchors remain “the bedrock” of the company’s strategic thinking. The vast majority of Regency’s properties contain at least one grocery store to serve the community and draw in a steady stream of shoppers.

And for good reason: Grocery-anchored shopping centers hold a competitive advantage over grocery-less competitors. The presence of a successful supermarket correlates with higher occupancy rates and lower tenant rollover in the rest of the center, according to industry reports.

Koleszar said brick-and-mortar grocery also has proven to be resilient to competition from e-commerce while providing stable and predictable foot traffic year-round. 

Photo: Courtesy of Regency Centers

Dunwoody Village, Dunwoody, Georgia

“E-commerce is one of the pillars of grocery now, but it still represents a pretty small share of total grocery sales,” he said. “The physical stores — those four walls — remain the most convenient way to get fresh groceries. You know, I like squeezing my own avocados, and you just can't get that online.” 

It’s not only shoppers who appreciate a grocery anchor. Retailers that were longtime shopping mall fixtures have taken a new look at open-air centers, with many liking what they see in the reliable foot traffic compared to the dwindling activity at many malls.

“The Sephoras and West Elms of the world are all coming out of malls," Koleszar said. “Some of our leasing agents have told me that they'd be more surprised if they heard about new deals happening in malls these days as opposed to an open-air center. So, the tide has definitely shifted."

Shifted, but smart retail center operators continue to take steps to ensure tenants — whether a longtime grocery anchor or a recent expat from enclosed malls — have the best shot at long-term success. 

This is where the experiential aspect of in-person shopping comes into play, whether it concerns squeezing fresh produce or trying on a new sweater. Koleszar said savvy retailers like Stew Leonard's, a Northeast grocery chain found at some Regency properties, lean into making shopping a fun experience that consumers can’t find anywhere else. 

He said Regency invests heavily in its properties, such as Dunwoody Village in suburban Atlanta, which the company has transformed into a “central hub” for the community. Likewise, successful grocers and other retail stores are intentionally designed with placemaking elements so the physical space complements the merchandise, he said.

“We expect the grocers to not only lean into their omnichannel and e-commerce presence but to create an in-store experience for shoppers just as we are doing with our shopping centers,” Koleszar said. “It could be architectural elements or hardscaping and landscaping. Or, it could be murals and artwork to increase visual interest and for wayfinding. It all relates to the experience we want for our customers, and it’s great for our tenants, too.” 

Another advantage to the grocery anchor business model: Grocery stores tend to sign longer leases than other types of retail. This gives the shopping center operator time to experiment and find a complementary mix of tenants that appeals to the local community.

“It really is a partnership between the grocery store and the shopping center owner who curates the balance of the shopping experience,” said Patrick Conway, West Coast managing director. “It’s probably the most important aspect of working with my teams, and it starts with understanding your consumers’ needs and wants, with merchandising geared to a very specific community. The suburban Orange County experience is going to be extremely different from urban Seattle.”

Working closely with their tenants, center operators need to provide a dynamic environment where visitors will not only want to shop but also gather to share experiences, Conway said. Otherwise, consumers will view the property’s purpose as merely transactional, making it easier to take their dollars elsewhere.

“Customers have choices, so you need to pay attention to details and provide a dynamic grocery-anchored merchandise mix in order to be the center of choice,” he said. “We spend a lot of time on that, making sure that as our communities evolve, we and our tenants do, too.”

Depending on the community, sometimes a single grocery tenant is not enough. Regency’s Westlake Plaza and Center in Thousand Oaks, California, is home to three grocery stores — Gelsons, Sprouts and Vons — each with its own niche appealing to the specific needs of local shoppers.

Conway said it’s a winning combination for Westlake that didn’t come about by accident. 

“Every Regency managing director, regional market officer and leasing agent understands that each of these centers is in a very unique neighborhood,” he said. “They may have similar demographics or incomes, but it's extremely important for us to understand what each center means to its community and to cultivate a merchandising mix with the right grocer, or grocers. It’s not one size fits all.”

Acquisitions That Act Like Partnerships

Attention to detail and a passion for retail appeal to another important stakeholder: the owners of the properties Regency is considering acquiring. Mehigan said these businesspeople may have devoted decades to growing and looking after their centers and want to know that their “baby” will remain in good hands after they sell. A look at Regency’s portfolio and history of success can ease those concerns, he said.

But owners might be put off by the complex tax implications of selling, such as through a 1031 property exchange. This is where Regency’s organizational structure as an UPREIT works to its advantage, helping to ensure that both parties to an acquisition view the deal as a win-win, he said.

The UPREIT model allows Regency to acquire a property by providing the former owner with a partnership in the REIT rather than cash. This allows the former property owner to defer paying immediate capital gains taxes on the sale, while making them a shareholder in Regency. 

Photo: Courtesy of Regency Centers

Blakeney Town Center in Charlotte

“We're buying their company, but they're buying into ours, too,” Mehigan said. “As a result, it ends up feeling like a partnership.”

One such partnership was forged in the summer of 2025, when Regency completed the acquisition of a $357M portfolio consisting of five shopping centers in California’s Orange County. Mehigan said the longtime owners wanted to be confident the new landlord would continue to treat the centers with the same TLC they had for decades. 

“This small family office was looking for a buyer who was approachable and looked and felt like them,” he said. “And it was interesting, because we discovered that our cultures are actually very similar in how we treat people, how we look at the properties and how we just behaved as operators.”

Mehigan said the UPREIT model, coupled with Regency’s operating principles, benefits local communities, too. In some cases, a previous owner might not have had the means to make much-needed capital improvements or struggled to fill vacancies. Regency can invest in the property over the long term, transforming it into a community hub like its other centers nationwide, but one that reflects its community.

“That’s where we have a real competitive advantage because our strategy is very straightforward about how we want to own the best neighborhood and community shopping centers around the country while growing [net operating income] and our dividend,” Mehigan said. “We are good stewards of the community and own really high-quality shopping centers, which is evident in our portfolio of successful properties.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Regency Centers and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.