L2M Inc., an architectectural firm with planners and interior designers, has recently been hired by Frontier Development to design three strip retail buildings in Florida, Virginia and Maryland.
The projects ride the wave of increasingly popular shadow-anchored centers – the practice of developing free-standing or attached centers for specialty retailers in close proximity to big-box retailers and the shopping centers built to accommodate them. The format and scale of the centers designed by L2M afford local and national retailers tremendous access to the traffic generated by their larger neighbors; customers, convenience and choice; and finally higher returns for their clients.
The first project, St. Lucie West, will be located in St. Lucie, Florida and is positioned in front of a Wal-Mart. The facility will be nearly 11,000 square feet and sub-divided into four tenant spaces. Retailers such as Great Clips, RadioShack, and Mattress Giant will benefit from the site’s frontage on St. Lucie West Boulevard, situated just east of Interstate 95.
In Lynchburg, Virginia, an addition will be added on to the Wards Crossing Shopping Center. Located at the corner of Wards and Wards Ferry Roads and attached to an existing Pet Smart, this center is co-anchored by Dick’s Sporting Goods and Target. The project will be approximately 8,200 square feet and will house Payless ShoeSource and Lane Bryant.
The third project, Tollgate Plaza, will be located in Bel Air, Maryland. The site is sandwiched between the Harford Mall and Wal-Mart. Situated at the intersection of Tollgate and Bel Air Roads, this project will be 10,000 square feet and will house three to four tenants, such as Next Day Blinds and Vitamin Shoppe. The plaza’s aesthetic responds well to the city’s design requirements to develop a town center-look for all new retail buildings in development.
