At this convention, it’s better when what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas
KENT DARR May 18, 2016 | 9:14 pm
2 min read time
513 wordsBusiness Record Insider, Real Estate and DevelopmentListen closely and you might hear the buckles being cinched on travel bags as an annual pilgrimage gets underway to a Las Vegas convention that can lead to retail development in Greater Des Moines.
The convention, put on by the International Council of Shopping Centers, is called RECON, and it draws a contingent of veteran and first-time attendees from the Greater Des Moines ranks of commercial real estate brokers, developers and construction companies.
At last year’s event, Richard Hurd, who has attended the event every year since 1986 or 1987, brokered a deal that has brought the Container Store to his Mills Crossing development in West Des Moines.
Luring the company, which generally focuses on metropolitan areas with populations of at least 1 million, turned some heads. On the other hand, Hurd also sold Nordstrom Rack on the idea of entering the Greater Des Moines market, also at a Hurd development near Jordan Creek Town Center.
The Las Vegas event draws an international crowd, and this year’s attendance is expected to top 30,000.
Greater Des Moines has become an interesting enough market that the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) also had a local event in Greater Des Moines for the first time in memory.
Jeff Daniels of Buyers Realty Inc., the company that brought Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, among other national retailers, to Greater Des Moines, helped put the local event together. He is the chairman of the ICSC’s Iowa/Nebraska retail segment. The Greater Des Moines meeting drew 90 people.
It is difficult to know exactly how many local brokers and developers will travel to Las Vegas, but Daniels anticipates a large contingent.
The convention runs May 22-25, and Daniels said he plans meetings every hour on the hour.
Daniels also is one of the people who marvels at the fact that Hurd is bringing the Container Store to the Des Moines area.
Hurd said it was a matter of getting beyond brokers representing the company and talking directly to its real estate specialists. Then you pitch the dynamic of Greater Des Moines, which can draw shoppers from across the state and boasts its own high level of employment and earning and buying capacity.
“It’s a simple concept, but it takes a lot of hard work. It is very difficult,” Hurd said.
Ben Garrett, a broker with Knapp Properties Inc., is attending his first convention. He points out that Knapp has a “fair number” of retail projects that will be underway in the next 12 to 18 months in Waukee and Des Moines and he plans as many meetings as possible with representatives from a range of retailers.
He agrees that the Greater Des Moines story, whether told to attract a major anchor for a new development or a smaller but nationally recognized brand for a repurposed Class B strip center, is compelling.
“Nobody leaves with a bad impression, but first you have to get them in the door,” he said. “People wrap their arms around it.”
He plans meetings with any retailer or developers who will listen to the story.
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