Illustration by Kathleen Fu
Malls aren’t what they used to be. In 1986, the U.S. claimed roughly 25,000 malls. Today, there are approximately 1,150. Some sources project that within a decade, as few as 150 will remain. Will Kenwood Towne Centre be one of the lucky ones? Local experts are cautiously optimistic. “Kenwood has continued to evolve and decidedly get better because of a couple of things,” says Carl Goertemoeller, executive director of the University of Cincinnati Real Estate Center.
First, Goertemoeller notes that Kenwood Towne Centre was an early adopter of higher-end food experiences, such as The Cheesecake Factory and Maggiano’s Little Italy, when other malls held tight to the grab-and-go food court model. It was an innovative gamble, but one that’s proven effective, as sit-down dining experiences serve as primary destinations and generate their own foot traffic. With those elevated dining locales, “People linger longer, and they combine a dinner trip with a shopping trip,” says Goertemoeller.
Second, Kenwood Towne Centre continues to attract and retain a diverse portfolio of approximately 160 tenants, from accessible brands like Hollister and American Eagle Outfitters to luxury brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton, as well as novelty shops like Lolli & Pops and Squishable. “We truly have something for everyone,” says Senior General Manager David Jacoby. “Our goal is always to ensure there is a reason to visit the center.”
While Brookfield Properties, Kenwood Towne Centre’s owner, is tightlipped about occupancy statistics, Jacoby notes that Kenwood is “able to be selective about how we curate.” Brookfield is keenly aware of underperforming tenants. “If they feel [a tenant] is not performing and that tenant is coming up on a lease term, Brookfield’s going to be aggressive,” says Goertemoeller.
To create that perfect cocktail of tenants, Goertemoeller says there’s a significant “herd mentality” at play. Meaning, great tenants want to be surrounded by other great tenants. This is especially true for bespoke brands with limited brick-and-mortar footprints—such as Apple and Nordstrom.
Kenwood Towne Centre has also earned a reputation for embracing emerging and digitally native brands such as Alo and Warby Parker, a move that keeps the center’s ethos cool and relevant. “If you are an up-and-coming brand, you’re going to choose the center that produces the highest sales per square foot,” says Goertemoeller.
And that is something Kenwood Towne Centre can offer. In the last five years, the overall sales performance of the center’s retailers has increased by 25 percent. “If a brand wants to open in Ohio, they want to be at Kenwood,” Jacoby says.
Curation is also driven by the consumers the center seeks to attract, who aren’t just from the surrounding affluent neighborhoods of Cincinnati’s east side. The center also pulls from Dayton, Indiana, and Kentucky. Kenwood Towne Centre seeks to give consumers a destination experience, and people are willing to travel for Kenwood’s high-end stores, which aren’t available elsewhere in the region.
Despite the center’s anomalous success, one thing is clear: To survive the next decade, Kenwood Towne Centre can’t rest on its laurels. “It’s essential to create opportunities in your business model to innovate, rather than just stick to what’s worked,” says Gary Painter, academic director of the Center for Real Estate of the Carl H. Lindner College of Business at UC. Fortunately, the center has displayed its willingness to innovate. Recently, it has welcomed recreation tenants like coworking space COhatch and Brkthrough, a new challenge-room complex set to open in summer 2025.
One avenue Kenwood hasn’t yet embraced, however, is the residential market. This, as well as the application of new technologies and AI capacities, are frontiers the property may need to consider going forward to keep comfortably afloat. “Adaptation is the norm, not the exception,” says Painter. “Real estate has always been about risk and reward, and it will continue to be.”
Facebook Comments