This is according to the latest data on the Bangkok retail property market from the Research Department of Colliers International Thailand.

Only 6,500 square metres of new retail projects were completed and opened in the first three months of this year, while more than 40,000 square metres were postponed to the current quarter, said Surachet Kongcheep, associate director of the department.

He said some retail centres could not be completed as expected in the first quarter, especially in the City area of Bangkok.

Meanwhile, the total retail supply in the Suburban Bangkok area was the largest, with around 3.5 million square metres or approximately 53 per cent of the total supply of Bangkok and surrounding areas.

This was due to the huge number of residential projects, which create the real demand for retail centres such as community malls and large-scale shopping malls in the Suburban Bangkok area.

Some 866,530 square metres of future supply is under construction and expected to be completed this year, with 559,140 square metres at shopping malls and 269,400 square metres at community malls.

Most community malls scheduled to be completed in 2014 are located in the Suburban Bangkok area, although some community malls in Bangkok are not successful and cannot maintain their initial popularity, he said.

The occupancy rates in all categories are above 95 per cent, except for supporting retail, which weighed in at 90 per cent.

Surachet explained that most retail centres in Bangkok had achieved a high take-up rate, especially those in the City area.

During the past one to two years, many international brands have been looking to open shops in Thailand, especially at shopping malls in Bangkok. In addition, many local Thai brands also continue to open shops in all areas of the country.

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Q1 retail property demand still strong despite political woes

LAS VEGASWhen is the last time you stepped into a brand new shopping mall? Its been nearly a century since the first shopping mall opened in the United StatesU.S. construction deliveries of retail assets in 2013 were 76.6 percent below the high levels of 2008, and Q1 2014 deliveries for major markets were only 9.8 million.

The lack of new supply coupled with fluctuating consumer confidence is pushing retail real estate owners to strategically evaluate their current assets. With limited supply, getting the environment right in existing assets has become crucial, and its what really creates a resilient retail center. It is the basic building block of the physical offering, and cant be left to chance anymore, JLL Retails Karen Raquet told us.

According to JLLs Retail Property Management and Leasing experts, there are three key approaches retail owners can implement to boost their current assets:

1. Identify and Attract the Right Retailers:Looking holistically at the long-term viability of a centerthree to six years down the roadrather than filling vacant holes as they occur can make all the difference. Securing the right retailers for a particular space and center is crucial, because regardless of how attractive, stimulating, well-located and connected a retail site is, it will only attract visitors if it has a platform that meets or exceeds the demanding requirements of the local consumer.

JLLs Director of Leasing Kimli Cross told us, The shopping environment covers more than just the physical space, although this is extremely important, it is about how a space makes you feel as a visitor. Is it uplifting, entertaining, stimulating?

2. Engage with the Local Community: A retail center does not, and cannot exist in a bubbleits an intrinsic part of the community in which it sits, be it a suburban town, urban city, or even an airport. Building and promoting a strong identity for retail centers has become essential in an environment where competition is rife and where the shelf life of products and services appears to be diminishing. By giving back to the community, through the provision of free space for school art projects or charity events, retail centers can help to embed themselves into the heart of a community.

3. Detail Capital Improvements: Following the economic downturn, capital expenditure renovation work slowed substantially in the retail sector. Today, upgrades or additions of any size that restore and renovate a property can drive returns, and help a center overtake its competitive set. The biggest conversions that are likely to take place in the coming year will revolve around remerchandising and retrofitting space, including cosmetic remodels, and improvements to lighting, water and electric efficiency and consumption.

When these single strategies stand alone, they can in fact boost a propertys shopper appeal, cash flow and positively impact sales in the near term; however, when they are combined, they can truly transform a retail space into a place that both creates and responds to demand.

Next: The Ongoing Retail Evolution

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Can Retail Withstand the Test of Time?

Downtown Summerlin is among the largest US retail projects now under way.

NEW YORK CITYThe Americas contain by far the largest share of shopping center space at north of 2.25 billion square feet, with the US alone accounting for more than two billion square feet of the total. That preeminent position wont change by the end of 2016, although China will add more than four times as much new retail space as the US over the next two years: 161.3 million square feet compared to 36.7 million feet domestically, even if the Americas have more projects under construction.

That Asia should lead the way with retail development, even as economic growth in the region slows slightly, bodes well for the global recovery generally. So says Cushman & Wakefield in a report issued Monday to coincide with ICSC RECon.

Retail real estate development is often seen as barometer as the global economy shifts from recovery to growth, says Matt Winn, global retail COO and head of retail in the Americas.While the South American economies have slowed, Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Chile will all see additions to their supply in the next few years.

Winn adds that even in the US, where the ratio of shopping center space per capita is higher than everywhere else in the world, there are projects of more than 400,000 square feet apiece under way. Among the largest of these is the retail component of the Howard Hughes Corp.s Downtown Summerlin master-planned development, scheduled to open in October in a Las Vegas neighborhood not all that far from where the retail industry has gathered for RECon.

C&W's Matt Winn (at left), seen here at ICSC RECon with GlobeSt.com's Natalie Dolce, notes that development signals an economic shift "from recovery to growth."

An encouraging backdrop for development is improving global economic fundamentals and increased consumer confidence, says C&W. Global GDP is forecast to grow at 3.4% this year, the highest rate since 2011.

C&W notes that household spending will play a significant role in the realization of GDP gains, with spending in the US, the euro zone, and China leading the way. Although its growth has eased in recent years, China is still expected to record a global best 4.5% rise in consumer spending in 2014, a number that will accelerate to 5.1% in 2015.

More than 1,650 new shopping centers were delivered between 2012 and 2013 across the Americas, Europe and Asia. This represents about 210 million square feet of gross leasable area, or about 7% of overall existing inventory. The US, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, India and China drove the majority of the newly added space.

India and China will continue to loom large in development this year, with Asia accounting for well over half the 14 global development pipeline of 125.6 million square feet, to the point where James Hawkey, C&Ws retail services leader for the Asia-Pacific region, warns of oversupply in some Chinese markets. Even so, the worlds most populous continent will end 16 with inventory of about 450 million square feet, a fraction of the 2.3 billion square feet the Americas will contain by then.

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Strong Retail Pipeline Signals Global Shift to Growth

The look, feel, size and culinary offerings of the Cantina Aspen restaurant could change dramatically before the summer tourist season is underway.

The owners are awaiting a city building permit that would allow the large dining area at the south end of the restaurant space to be walled off from the middle dining area. That space, featuring large windows facing South Mill Street, would revert back to the building owner. Commercial real estate broker Karen Setterfield, of Setterfield & Bright, already has listed the 1,200-square-foot area as future retail property.

Setterfield said Sunday that plans call for two separate retail spaces of 600 square feet. The listing asks for $140 per square foot, which amounts to about $7,000 per month, a price that does not include insurance, utilities, taxes and other costs. A potential tenant could lease both spaces to house a larger retail operation, she said.

The Cantina Aspen bar and restaurant operation will change significantly, according to managing owner Aidan Wynn. Plans call for retiring the Tex-Mex concept in favor of modern Mexican fare, Wynn said.

Were going to offer a smarter product, better service, better quality food and an overall new experience, Wynn said. The Cantina has been The Cantina for 28 years and its kind of had its time. We still want to be a locals place. I was born and raised here.

As one employee of the restaurant told The Aspen Times informally, We want to class up the place. The popular restaurant, prominently positioned at the corner of Mill and Main Streets, will be renamed El Rincon, which translated from Spanish to English means The Corner, Wynn said.

With the bar area and outdoor patio seating as well as the middle dining area, the restaurant simply doesnt need the large dining room, he said. The entire restaurant typically only fills up a few times a year during special events, such as the Super Bowl or New Years Eve.

Were going to make a smaller, more quaint restaurant, Wynn said. Itll be easier to control the quality. Were going to make some subtle menu changes and a slight redevelopment of the bar area and a little remodel of the dining room.

The cuisine will still be Mexican, but in a different way.

Mexican food on its head, I guess you could call it, Wynn said. Well still have some of traditional Tex-Mex favorites, but we want to try things like duck carnitas, goat stew, pan-roasted rock cod with a chicken-mole sauce, for instance.

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Big changes in store for Cantina Aspen restaurant

Village of Shorewood officials will consider a proposal to provide $13.9 million in tax incremental financing for a proposed Metro Market, apartment and additional retail space development on Oakland Avenue.

Fox Point-based real estate development firm General Capital Group plans to build a mixed-use development with an 80,000-square-foot Roundy's Metro Market grocery store, 80 upscale apartments and 15,000 square feet of additional retail space. The development is planned for two blocks on the west side of Oakland Avenue between Kenmore Place and Olive Street. It would replace the current Pick 'n Save grocery store there and the vacant former Schwartz book store and Walgreens buildings.

The project would also include a a 350 stall parking garage for the Metro Market and other retail customers, employees and public parking for the community.

Village officials are considering a plan to create a TIF district for the project that would provide a $6 million parking structure grant and a $6.5 million loan to General Capital for construction of the Metro Market. The TIF would also provide $1.445 million to cover village costs for financing and professional services.

When a TIF district is created, property tax revenes that go from the district to local units of government are frozen. As property values in the district rise, the additional tax revenue is used to pay for the TIF expenses. Once those are paid for the additional tax revenues then go to local units of government.

Shorewood officials estimate that it would take 15 years to pay for the costs of the proposed TIF for the Metro Market project. The total net village investment for the proposed project would be approximately $6,695,000.

"The proposed Metro Market addition is consistent with our vision of what we want Shorewood's business district to accomplish in order to enhance the vitality of our village," said Village President Guy Johnson. "This is a bold project that is benefiting from the helpful ideas coming from many different citizen groups and individuals."

A Joint Review Board meeting and public hearing will be held on the TIF proposal for the development at 3:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. respectively on Monday, June 2 at Shorewood Village Hall.

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Shorewood considers $12.5 million in TIF for Metro Market development

Developers of Dallas Victory Park project are starting their long-awaited revamp of the mixed-use development.

Construction will begin immediately along Olive Street and Victory Park Lane on streetscape upgrades.

The work is set for completion late this year.

The street and streetscape improvements are a vital component of transforming Victory Park into Dallas premier walkable entertainment district that can be sustained for years to come, Lance Fair, COO of Estein & Associates and vice president of Victory Park, said in a statement.

The construction will include adding a raised crosswalk and a median on Olive Street to connect Victory Park Lane and Victory Plaza.

On Victory Park Lane, workers will take out the medians and streetlights to widen the sidewalks to allow outdoor patios. An additional raised crosswalk will also be built.

Future planned upgrades to the area will add retail, restaurants, entertainment and office space. The existing storefronts will be remodeled with new graphics and landscaping. Construction on that part of the project will start next year.

Houston Street and Victory Avenue will be converted to two-way streets with bike lanes.

Whiting-Turner is the construction manager for the first phase of the redevelopment. Cushman & Wakefield is the real estate manager for the project.

Victory Parks owners in 2012 hired Fort Worth-based developer Trademark Property to come up with a new plan for Victory Parks shopping space, which never attracted a large number of tenants.

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Construction is starting on Victory Park upgrades

Diyar Al Muharraq has appointed Nass Contracting for the construction of phase one of Dragon City, a Chinese-themed retail development in Bahrain

Part of the Diyar Al Muharraq development, Dragon City will have a gross floor area of 51,000 sq m, including about 700 retail stores, warehousing of 5,000 sq m, a dining street of 6,000 sq m plus car parking for 1,500 customers.

The project will be developed by Dragon City, a subsidiary of Diyar Al Muharraq, and operation of phase one will be undertaken by Chinamex Middle East, a statement said.

Dragon City will offer discounted goods and will cater to both wholesale and retail consumers.

Diyar Al Muharraq chairman, Abdul Hakim Al Khayyat, said: "We look forward to working hand in hand with Nass Contracting who has an excellent reputation for timely completion of projects with great attention to applying the highest standards of quality standards in all their projects.

"As per our contract, Dragon City Phase I will be constructed by Nass Contracting over a 14-month period. The anticipated opening of the mall is June 2015."

Ghazi Nass, CEO of Nass Contracting, added: "We guarantee that we will comply with the highest standards of construction which reflect the values of Diyar Al Muharraq. By adhering to best practices, we will deliver promptly as scheduled, in time for the opening of the mall in June 2015."

The facility will offer a variety of Chinese products such as home appliances, household items, building materials, furniture, toys, machinery, garments, textiles, footwear and general merchandise.

Dragon City is expected to attract more than half a million visitors a year.

Chinas fast-emerging middle class is boosting tourists and shoppers to the GCC. Dubai developer Nakheel is doubling the size of its Dragon Mart Mall, adding an additional 1.7m sq ft of retail space and 5,000 parking spaces at the China-themed mall.

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Builder picked for Bahrain's Dragon City retail project

Occupancy in the northwest Arkansas retail market has tightened to 6 percent during the first quarter. That figure stood at 6.7 percent a year ago, according to data collected by Xceligent Inc. of Independence, Mo.

In response to the dwindling inventory, new projects are in motion such as the 70.2-acre Hall Crossing development at the northwest corner of Interstate 540 and Elm Springs Road in Springdale.

The property is anchored by a Wal-Mart Supercenter that will open later this year, and the site plan is configured with 11 outparcels, two of which have sold to Arvest Bank and McDonalds. Hall Crossing also has attracted two multi-tenant retail projects now in the planning stages.

Were seeing, finally, some tenant-driven, new construction, and some new space coming on the market, which we needed drastically for the last 18 months, said Alan Cole, principal at the Bentonville office of Colliers International.

Its really rolling again. Were very bullish on northwest Arkansas for the foreseeable future.

Of the more than 14.5 million SF of retail space tracked by Xceligent in Benton and Washington counties, 866,414 SF is vacant. Much of this unoccupied space is in older strip centers and neighborhood centers, outside the core retail areas of Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale and Fayetteville.

The main retail spots are very tight on space, Cole said. Theres been some pent up demand that is finally bringing new space to the market.

The retail vacancy rate in the west Fayetteville market has dropped steadily during the past five quarters from more than 8.9 percent to 5.4 percent. Its Wedington Drive corridor continues to thrive.

The retail vacancy rate in the two largest submarkets in the region is low as well: 4.4 percent in the 3 million-SF West Rogers market, home to Pinnacle Hills Promenade; and 5.4 percent in the nearly 3.2 million-SF North Fayetteville market, home to the Northwest Arkansas Mall.

The average vacancy rate for retail space across the nation is 10.2 percent. The upswing in activity that has helped absorb space has become a calling card drawing still more attention to northwest Arkansas.

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New Retail Construction Meets A Need in Northwest Arkansas

MIAMIPent up demand. Those are the words used to describe retail markets in many metros. That said, its still difficult to get lease deals done.

GlobeSt.com caught up with Jason Baker, principal at Baker Katz, to get his take on these and other retail leasing issues in part one of this two-part exclusive interview. Be sure to come back this afternoon to read part the second installment.

GlobeSt.com: What is the state of retail leasing and how has it changed over the past 12 months?

Baker: There is pent up demand for new retail space and the supply seems to be picking back up but not nearly as quickly as retailers or brokers would like to see. The state of retail leasing remains challenging and, based on the amount of new construction slated for the upcoming year, not much will change on that front in the near future.

GlobeSt.com: Is it easier or more difficult to get retail leases done? How creative do you have to get these days?

Baker: With so little new retail space being added and occupancy levels at all time highs, it has never been so difficult turning up excellent space for retailers that are looking to expand. This has been forcing brokers to get extremely creative with uncovering and closing on available quality space for their tenants.

Some are pressing landlords about space thats set to roll over or asking which tenants may be willing to relocate. Tenants and retailers are also more open than ever before to accepting a sublease/assignment and paying key money to displace current tenants. When saying key money, Im referring to making a deal with current tenants to get control of their lease.

GlobeSt.com: What trends are you seeing in retail leasing?

Baker: For the most part, the hottest categories of retail continue to be grocery and restaurants. Within the Houston market, competition is especially prevalent for spaces within the range of 1,500 to 3,500 square feet.

A year ago it was a tenant market, but unquestionably, the shift has moved towards the landlord. As an example, in late 2012, I was quoted a rent of $30 per square foot by a Houston landlord. I just heard from them and was quoted $50 per square foot for the exact same space occupied by the same tenant.

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Retail Guru Shares Three Words: Pent Up Demand

A long-time Gig Harbor property owner and benefactor has big plans for several adjacent parcels of land on the waterfront.

The property, owned by Stan and Judy Stearns, currently is the site of Netshed No. 9 restaurant, Arabellas Landing marina, the Downtown Waterfront Alliance, Ship to Shore marine supply and the former Harbor Peddlers retail shop.

The Harbor Peddlers space is currently being remodeled as a downtown outlet for Bella Kitchen Essentials.

According to John Moist, manager of Stearns properties, the plan also includes construction of two new buildings that will be a new retail space and a storage facility for Ship to Shore.

There will be a nice plaza and an infinity pond between the new buildings that will be open to the public, said Peter Katich of the citys planning department.

Also in the works is the re-location of a very popular existing business into the Bayview Building the space that currently houses Ship to Shore Moist said.

Katich anticipates that a public hearing on the project will take place late July or early August.

In addition to the new construction, Stearns plans to re-open the fuel dock at Arabellas Landing.

Gig Harbor is the Maritime City and we have lots of boaters and a wonderful, resurging fishing fleet, Moist said. Our goal is to create an environment to be of service to personal watercraft of all sizes and also to serve the fishermen of our community.

The fuel dock has been an on-again, off-again operation for more than a decade, he said. It was taken out of service about 11 years ago. The two tanks are still in place and weve maintained them and had them inspected regularly.

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Retail expansion planned on the waterfront