Innovating Urban Spaces: The Future of Mixed-use Real Estate Development

Originally published on October 10, 2024 by Chanelle Hayes for NAIOP.

When it comes to mixed-use real estate development, it isn’t just a trend but a transformative force that’s reshaping our cities in today’s rapidly evolving urban landscape.

At CRE.Converge 2024 this week in Las Vegas, a panel of distinguished speakers gathered to discuss the latest trends, challenges and opportunities in mixed-use developments. The panel, moderated by Steve Smith, principal of Cooper Carry, Inc., featured Jay Curran, president of multifamily for Crescent Communities, LLC; Matt Friedman, managing director for Rockwood Capital, LLC; and Tom van Betten, vice president for Matter Real Estate Group.

Retail is a huge component of mixed-use developments, but it can be tricky, Curran said. “We aren’t retail experts, so we partner with retail experts.” Curran explained that Crescent Communities has done a fair number of mixed-use projects where the ground floor is either co-developed or owned by someone with extensive experience.

For instance, Crescent Communities has a 483-unit development towards the north end of Denver’s eclectic River North Art District (RiNo). “It’s a desirable neighborhood, but there’s a lot of competition from the apartment side, and there’s a ton of available ground floor retail and all these apartment buildings because most of them didn’t want that retail,” Curran said. “And now we’ve got more retail than we can use. “Retail is an expensive business for those that aren’t great at it, but it can add much value to the rest of your development.”

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