Local centres as a challenge : an alternative approach for redevelopment of small-scale shopping centres

The deterioration of small-scale shopping centres is an increasing problem in Dutch neighbourhoods. Because of consumers’ increased mobility and the decreased potential amount of spending within the catchments area, these small-scale shopping facilities are hardly exploitable. A clear vision on the future development is currently missing. Existing methods for measuring shopping centre vitality are based on the analysis of site qualities, like accessibility, and of financial-economic aspects like turnover, floor-productivity and costs. These methods focus on the possibility to continue the current retail function. Especially when checking the financial economic aspects, unfortunately most of the small centres would fail the test. Subsequently none of the methods offer a solution for the vacant or deteriorated real estate. Because of the value of the real estate and the function for the neighbourhood, this is a frustrating outcome while it would be too extreme to dismantle each centre that functions badly. In this paper we introduce a methodology by which alternative directions of development can be worked out, by making a site- as well as a situation-analysis. This alternative approach takes the absolute and the relative location into account and gives insight into the potential of the location and the real estate. The outcome is a set of solutions for redevelopment and brings along a whole package of facilities and services, both profit as non-profit, site- or situation oriented. This approach increases the range of solutions and decreases the chances for disinvestments