Monday, December 28th, 2009
In 2008 I made 10 trips to Dubai and worked on two projects. In doing so, I met many wonderful people and saw a good deal of projects that were beyond belief. A good deal of these projects were completed and many more will never be built. In general, I found the Emiratis to be gracious host and the hired help to be less than forth coming. Outlined below are my observations.
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Tags: development, Dubai, Dubailand, UAE, Wafi
Posted in Culture, Real Estate, Real Estate Development, Retail, Shopping Centers | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
A few short years ago Women’s Wear Daily listed Bal Harbour Shops as the most productive shopping center in the United States with sales reportedly topping $1400 per square foot. Not far behind was the Forum Shops in Las Vegas with various reports of sales running on average in the $1300 to $1500 range.
Then in 2008, along came Aventura Mall, located a few miles north of Bal Harbour with a report that their sales were exceeding $1100 per square foot and they were closing in on Bal Harbour. But not to be out done, Bal Harbour came back with astounding sales projections that jumped to $2,139 per square foot in 2008. In nearby Orlando, upstart Mall at Millenia reported sales per square foot at a surprising $1000.
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Monday, December 14th, 2009
OVERVIEW
Six major trends over the past decade have changed the way we eat, what we eat and where we eat it. These trends are as follows:
- Required Healthy Diets – Consumers are increasingly becoming more concerned with eating healthy food, not so much as by choice but out of necessity.
- Food Network – The food network makes celebrity chefs out of all of us.
- Gourmet Kitchens – We are no longer content with kitchen gadgets and a new cook book, they want professional kitchens with multiple ovens, oversized refrigerators and other tools of the trade.
- Exotic Travel – Lower airfares, globalization, travel magazines and world travel books have all contributed to a desire for people to see the world and not just cosmopolitan cities. As people travel to places like Yerga Cheffe in Ethiopia they want to bring back authentic coffee beans to become the new trophy over the living room mantle.
- Gourmet Markets – Today, Whole Foods and a host of other specialty food purveyors are located in every city of any real size. These markets provide the inspiration and a plentiful supply of ingredients to compliment virtually every type culinary adventure.
- Celebrity Chefs – Finally, seemingly everyday people have become overnight celebrity chefs providing inspiration for every home chef.
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