Retail Rising

August 23, 2012 | 8:00 am ET Staff Reporter

San Francisco's retail market is on the upswing, with no end on the horizon. Next week, we host the Bay Area's top players at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins for Bisnow’s Retail Real Estate Summit. Read on for a sneak peek.

Federal Realty Trust president Jeff Berkes tells us interest in high-quality retail space is a function of the Bay Area's supply. The Iowa native says it’s geographically and politically difficult to build here, making prime retail real estate relatively scarce. He believes San Francisco will continue to be a strong market for restaurants, a function of the highly educated population when it’s comes to good eats. An avid tennis player, Jeff will be off to NY the morning after our summit to take in the US Open (but will miss his favorite player,Rafael Nadal, who withdrew with an injury).

Madison Marquette managing director Eric Hohmann is developing a flagship retail opportunity in Union Square on the corner of Grant and Sutter. (Above, 272 Sutter.) He’s working on an adaptive reuse of the building (renovated façade, rationalization of floor plates), which will attract a brand-name tenant in 2015. Eric says he sees double-to-triple the interest in retail compared with 12 to 18 months ago. To prep for Bisnow events, he regularly bikes the trails of Mount Tam(both on-road and off-road) in Marin County.

Cornish & Carey SVP Julie Taylor recently completed a deal to welcome Japan-based retailer Uniqlo's first West Coast location; it will replace DSW at a 29k SF space on 111 Powell in San Francisco. It opens this fall. Julie is now busy marketing 901 Market St for Hudson Pacific; at 94k SF, it's the largest corner location ever offered in Union Square. Julie spends her free time gardening and traveling with family and is excited about her trip to Central America in December.

Retail Rising

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