Developer favors stable markets

Communities with stable populations, including Pittsburgh, are ideal for shopping center developers during depressed times, according to the president of a Cleveland real estate company with major holdings in this region.

"We built or purchased centers in these communities, many in the North East, because our decisions were based on the population and economies of those areas," said Dan Hurwitz, president for Developers Diversified Realty Corp.

"Developers rushed to fast growth areas such as those in California, Arizona and Florida during the past few years, building shopping centers on spec, only now to find it difficult to attract retailers and have a shift in the population to shop at the centers," he told attendees last week at the Idea Exchange program at the Westin Convention Center hotel Downtown.

The annual event, sponsored by the International Council of Shopping Centers, brings together developers, commercial real estate experts and prospective retail and restaurant tenants to discuss business and expansion plans.

By Ron DaParma
TRIBUNE-REVIEW