Published: May 29, 2004

Nearly 40,000 developers came for the International Council of Shopping Centers convention, and the locale was appropriate given the gamble of building new retail amid the industry's still uncertain direction.

Shopping center owners unveiled and displayed several metro Atlanta developments at the 47th annual meeting.

Among them is the Forum at Newnan Crossing, a 480,000-square-foot, open-air retail center that will be linked to its big-box neighbor, Newnan Crossing, which boasts Target and BJ's Wholesale Club on its tenant roster. Both centers are off I-85 at Bullsboro Drive.

Developer StanThomas of Thomas Enterprises is backing the project by Forum Development Group.

Plans show room for a department store and several specialty shops and restaurants. So far, Consolidated Theaters has signed on and will open in November, Thomas said.

The theater was previously slated to open in the proposed Village at Newnan Crossing, a development by CBL & Associates Properties of Chattanooga, said Cleatus Phillips, community development director in Newnan.

CBL officials at the convention didn't comment on the status of Village at Newnan Crossing.

Phillips said CBL got a grading permit for the theater, but once the theater "went across the road to the Forum, CBL did not actively pursue their building permit."

Atlantic store list grows

Atlantic Station announced five new retailers to the 138-acre project. Guess and American Eagle Outfitters have signed on, as well as several entertainment concepts.

Lucid, a Canadian entertainment complex with themed bars, dancing and dining, will open its first U.S. location in the project. Also, Fox Sports Grill, and the Sporting Club at Atlantic Town Center will open at the complex when it debuts in mid-2005.

Bruce Macleod, managing director of retail for Atlantic Station, said the project is coming together.

"It's been a long time coming," Macleod said.

Lowe's not slowing growth

Lowe's Chairman and Chief Executive Bob Tillman gave a keynote luncheon speech at the convention, touting the chain's growth as it competes tooth-and-nail with Atlanta-based Home Depot.

Most of Lowe's store base -- 980 locations in 45 states -- is new. Lowe's spent over $15 billion building new stores and infrastructure in the past 10 years, Tillman said.

The North Carolina-based chain will spend an additional $7.4 billion on new and existing stores, with 290 stores planned by the end of 2005.

Tillman said Lowe's has less than a 25 percent penetration in markets where it operates, adding that the chain could build 30 stores a year over the next 10 years, and "we'd still be understored.

Besides new stores, Tillman talked of the changing face of consumers. Not only are more customers women -- who influence 94 percent of all home furnishing decisions -- but Lowe's is also aiming to attract Hispanics, whose buying power has surged in the last decade.

Tillman added that another group to watch is Generation X, or those in their mid-20s to mid-30s.

Gen X'ers are fleeing the nest, which bodes well for home-improvement retailers.