Despite years of predictions about the decline of brick-and-mortar, commercial retail is entering a new phase of growth driven largely by changing consumer behaviors. People shop and spend their time differently than they did just a few years ago. As daily life becomes more integrated with online experiences, convenience is more relevant than ever, whether through curbside pickup, same-day delivery, frictionless returns, or omnichannel shopping.

Meanwhile, years of limited new retail construction have left many markets with historically low vacancy rates and a shrinking supply of available retail space. Coupled with renewed investment and updated site layouts and store prototypes, these conditions are creating opportunities for new development, redevelopment, and adaptive reuse across the sector.

As the conversation shifts from disruption to evolution, the retail landscape has changed substantially. Understanding the forces driving these changes, where growth is occurring, and how developers are responding provides valuable context for navigating today’s commercial retail landscape.

What does commercial retail look like today?

Commercial retail encompasses a wide range of developments—from quick-service restaurants (QSRs), grocery stores, and convenience retail to big-box stores, shopping centers, and mixed-use destinations. While the sector has always evolved alongside consumer preferences and economic conditions, the past decade has accelerated trends toward greater convenience, more personalized experiences, and stronger community connections.

Physical retail increasingly functions as an extension of the online shopping experience. While this trend had been gaining momentum throughout the rise of e-commerce, the shopping environment during COVID-19 catalyzed the need for curbside pickup, contactless shopping, and convenient delivery and returns. Successful formats function as a physical embodiment of the digital consumer experience, offering hubs for pickups and returns. As a result, store formats, site layouts, and technology and operational needs have driven renovations of existing infrastructure and new development alike.

One of the most visible transformations has been the decline of once-thriving shopping malls. When large-format department stores began to give way to online shopping, many developments lost the anchor tenants that once generated steady foot traffic for surrounding businesses. Today, these underutilized properties present opportunities for strategic redevelopment, with many being reimagined as mixed-use destinations centered around experiential concepts, grocery stores, healthcare, dining, entertainment, and other need-based retail.

These projects are redefining how retail spaces serve their communities by creating destinations that encourage more frequent visits and respond to evolving consumer needs. While the mix of tenants and store formats may look different, one fundamental principle remains the same: the local market must define the destination, not the other way around. Understanding demographics, consumer demand, traffic patterns, and site characteristics remains essential to create developments that deliver long-term value.

Why is commercial retail changing?

The forces reshaping commercial retail have been building for more than a decade with the rise of e-commerce. Then, in 2020, the global upheaval turned conveniences like online ordering, curbside pickup, and contactless transactions into everyday necessities, forcing retailers to rapidly adapt or consolidate.

Inflation and economic uncertainty changed household spending habits and influenced where consumers shop and what they value. In the months and years that followed, consumers have increasingly sought destinations that offered more than transactions, elevating the role of retail as places for community connection.

These forces continue to influence where investment is flowing, how retailers are expanding, and what successful retail development looks like today.

• Changing consumer expectations: Consumer expectations have steadily evolved alongside e-commerce, mobile technology, and changing lifestyles. Today’s shoppers expect more from retail and value convenience, digital accessibility, and meaningful in-person experiences.
• Economic and spending shifts: Inflation and income polarization have steadily driven growth in value-oriented and premium retailers, while many middle-market concepts have lost momentum.
• Technology and omnichannel retail: As online and in-store shopping become increasingly intertwined, retailers are designing stores to support consumer experiences and fulfillment operations with flexible site layouts, dedicated pickup areas, and integrated technology throughout stores.
• Limited supply and redevelopment opportunities: A decade of limited retail construction has created favorable conditions for new development in many markets. As retailers resume expansion, developers have opportunities to deliver thoughtfully planned projects that respond to evolving consumer expectations and local market demand.
• Sustainability and ESG expectations: Investors, municipalities, and consumers alike are placing greater emphasis on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles. Energy-efficient buildings, EV charging infrastructure, walkable sites, and resilient stormwater solutions are becoming standard features that reduce operating costs while supporting municipal goals and evolving development standards.

Where developers are finding opportunity in key market segments

Understanding the market forces behind retail’s rapid evolution is only part of the equation. Those trends are playing out visibly across a handful of high-growth market segments, where brands are adapting their formats, expansion strategies, and customer experiences to meet changing consumer expectations.

• Grocery and necessity retail

Grocery stores and necessity-driven retail (think pharmacies, banks, and medical clinics) have emerged as reliable anchors for many shopping centers. Their resilience through changing economic conditions and ability to generate consistent, repeat traffic can support surrounding businesses and contribute to more stable retail environments.

• Dining and quick-service restaurants

Restaurants remain one of the fastest-growing retail segments, with dine-in formats satisfying consumers’ demand for experiences and quick-service restaurants (QSRs) offering convenience and scalable expansion models for developers. For national and regional QSR brands, standardized design criteria and prototypes help accelerate site selection and support efficient multi-market rollouts.

• Big-box retail

Big-box retail continues to evolve as national retailers refine their footprints through strategic expansion, smaller-format concepts, and opportunities to redevelop aging commercial corridors. Omnichannel fulfillment has transformed many stores into hubs linking physical retail with digital commerce, leveraging technology to create seamless shopping experiences, improve operational flexibility, and adapt to changing consumer expectations. At the same time, many aging malls are being repositioned through adaptive reuse and densification, replacing underutilized retail with mixed-use environments that combine shopping, dining, housing, healthcare, and entertainment to create more community-focused destinations.

• Convenience

Convenience retail remains one of the fastest-growing segments in commercial development as leading brands expand into both suburban growth corridors and infill locations. Today’s stores are designed to evolve with consumer expectations, incorporating fresh food, digital ordering, EV charging, and other services that extend well beyond traditional convenience offerings.

How can developers position retail projects for long-term success?

While every retail segment has its own development considerations, successful projects share the same foundation: informed site selection, early stakeholder alignment, and disciplined project execution.

Whether delivering a neighborhood shopping center, redeveloping an aging retail corridor, or supporting a nationwide rollout of QSR or convenience locations, successful retail development balances speed to market with early stakeholder alignment and coordinated project delivery.

By integrating market analysis, engineering, permitting, and program management from the outset, developers can create repeatable processes that reduce risk while adapting to the unique conditions of each site.

• Comprehensive due diligence helps identify environmental, utility, regulatory, and site constraints before they become schedule impacts, while evaluating visibility, access, traffic circulation, and redevelopment potential.
• Market analysis and strategic site selection help retail locations align with consumer demand, regional demographics, traffic patterns, and other factors that contribute to long-term performance.
• Integrated planning brings together local stakeholders, potential partners, and technical disciplines early in the process to align site design, infrastructure, permitting, and minimize potential schedule risks.
• Proactive community and utility coordination can streamline approvals for retail developments while coordinating roadway improvements, utilities, and municipal requirements to advance projects efficiently.
• Disciplined program management helps deliver consistent results across multiple retail locations by coordinating schedules and design standards while leveraging local relationships and market knowledge to navigate jurisdictional requirements and site-specific challenges.

The outlook for resilient commercial retail

Commercial retail isn’t only about products and services anymore. It has become an ecosystem of grocery stores, restaurants, healthcare, convenience, services, and public gathering spaces that support the rhythms of everyday life. More and more, those rhythms incorporate technology and innovation, driving continued evolution.

The forces reshaping the industry—from changing consumer expectations and digital commerce to evolving demographics and redevelopment—will continue to influence where retailers expand and how communities grow. For developers, that means creating projects that respond to local demand, balance speed with thoughtful planning, and remain adaptable to future change.

Ultimately, commercial retail will continue to evolve as digital and physical experiences become increasingly interconnected. The need for physical space isn’t disappearing; it’s being redefined by the experiences, services, and convenience people expect it to provide.

The post What’s driving the next era of commercial retail? appeared first on Atwell.

Tighter lending and investment criteria are raising the stakes for due diligence and rewarding the developers who treat it as a competitive advantage, not a formality.

Investment is returning. Data centers continue to capture headlines and capital, but the momentum doesn’t stop there. Advanced manufacturing, logistics, multi-family, and select retail segments are all seeing renewed activity after moving at a slower pace in the past few years. Developers who spent that time waiting on the sidelines are starting to move again.

But the capital coming back into the market in 2026 doesn’t look like the capital that left it. It’s smarter. More deliberate. And far less forgiving of surprises.

What “smarter capital” actually means

“Smarter capital” has become shorthand for a shift everyone in commercial real estate and development can feel but hasn’t fully named. Ask what it actually means, and the answer isn’t new technology or a vastly different financial structure. It’s a sharper, more disciplined process which includes a lot more time and attention spent on due diligence before capital ever moves.

Call it smarter capital or call it what it really is: patient capital. Lenders and equity partners have more time on land contracts than they did a few years ago, and they’re using it. That extra runway means more emphasis on vetting, more boxes checked, and more confidence that a project can move smoothly through the development process once capital is committed.

The fundamentals haven’t changed. Good dirt, used for its highest and best purpose, still draws capital. What’s changed is the patience investors have for ambiguity. With interest rates and construction costs largely leveled off, capital is gravitating toward certainty. The preference is projects with fewer unknowns, clearer paths to entitlement, and fewer reasons for a deal to stall. Smarter capital isn’t chasing home runs. It’s looking for singles, doubles, and triples, deals it can trust to perform with less volatility along the way.

Why the questions are coming earlier

Lenders and investors aren’t necessarily asking new questions; however, they’re asking the same questions earlier, and in more detail. Investors today have more information at their fingertips than ever before, and that access has changed expectations. A passive investor who once relied more on gut instinct can now research a sector in minutes and walk into a conversation sounding informed, even without deep industry expertise.

The result is a capital-raising process where the depth of diligence required on the front end has increased substantially. Developers and project sponsors who can’t answer detailed technical questions early are finding their deals take longer to fill a capital stack or don’t get funded at all. In 2026, the developers winning capital aren’t necessarily the ones with the boldest vision. They’re the ones who’ve already de-risked it.

Where the new scrutiny shows up

Some specific areas of due diligence have become non-negotiable, regardless of asset type:

• Power and water capacity. The conversation around data centers has put utility infrastructure under a microscope, and that scrutiny is spilling over into advanced manufacturing, cold storage, and any facility with a meaningful automation footprint. Investors want to know what else is being developed nearby, whether the local utility can deliver the power load required, and how that impacts the project’s schedule well before capital is committed.
• Entitlement and community support. Discretionary approvals can make or break a project’s timeline, and one contentious public hearing can color how capital views an entire submarket. Investors increasingly want evidence that a development team has done the upfront work with community leaders and stakeholders, not just the engineering.
• Site complexity. Infill and redevelopment opportunities (i.e., repurposed malls and underused retail corridors) carry a different diligence profile than greenfield sites. Greenfield work centers on geotechnical conditions, floodplains, wetlands, and utility capacity. Infill work centers on navigating an existing entitlement and community context. Smarter capital understands that distinction and expects development partners to have a clear path to success.

None of this is about reinventing due diligence. It’s about doing it earlier, more thoroughly, and with answers ready before anyone needs to ask twice.

Where AI fits, and where it doesn’t

The advancement of AI is definitely part of why capital has gotten smarter. It has made it easier for investors, including those without deep sector history, to ask sharper questions sooner. That’s a real shift in how capital is raised, and it rewards developers who treat strong technical groundwork as a front-end investment rather than a box to check later.

AI is also changing how project teams work. Used well, AI can accelerate research, permit tracking, and data gathering. Used carelessly, it can produce answers that sound confident but don’t hold up under review. The fundamentals still have to drive the decision: what is the investment thesis, what is the risk tolerance, and what does the data show. AI can speed up how a team gets there. It can’t make the call and it can’t build the relationships to make a project successful from conception through construction.

Why due diligence wins in 2026

This is where early technical validation earns its place in the process not as a formality, but as the work that determines whether a deal moves smoothly through entitlement, financing, and construction. Without that, a project may stall at the first hard question.

Atwell’s nationwide, multidisciplinary team is built to deliver that validation quickly. Our diversity across geography and service lines means a developer working through site selection for an advanced manufacturing facility can get a fast read from our power team on utility capacity, while our GIS team pulls together the mapping and site data investors are asking for, often before the question is fully on the table.

Our goal as strategic consultants to our clients is to see and identify issues or risk before they are asked by internal or external stakeholders and pivot quickly or provide options for paths forward. Regardless of what our scope is we approach every project with the mindset of how can we make our clients’ life easier while helping them get from point A to point B in their project faster.

That speed matters because every land contract and capital raise runs on the clock. Time spent chasing answers after the fact is time most developers don’t have. Our team functions as an extension of a client’s team: understanding their schedule, their benchmarks, and the specific points where lenders and equity partners are likely to push, then making sure those answers are ready well before they’re needed.

Good opportunities haven’t disappeared. Capital is back in the market in 2026, and it’s smarter about where it lands. The developers who move fastest from site control to funded, shovel-ready deals will be the ones who treat due diligence as the foundation of the process, not a hurdle at the end of it. In a market built on patient, disciplined capital, due diligence isn’t just protection. It’s the advantage.

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Related Digital is advancing a $16 billion hyperscale data center campus in Saline Township, Michigan, developed for Oracle and marking the largest capital investment in the state’s history. The more than 1,000-megawatt campus will help expand advanced artificial intelligence and cloud computing capabilities for Oracle and Open AI.

Atwell is supporting the project with concept planning, due diligence, land surveying, civil engineering, wetland permitting, landscape architecture, and construction management services. Our team is helping move this large-scale development from early planning through execution while supporting the infrastructure needed for long-term growth and innovation.

“Projects of this scale require strong collaboration and thoughtful planning from day one,” said Eric Lord, Vice President at Atwell. “We’re excited to help deliver the infrastructure needed to support long-term innovation and growth in Michigan.”

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In growing communities, development often starts with a central hub that drives momentum and creates new opportunities for the businesses, services, and neighborhoods around it. Retail development helps shape the identity of a community by creating gathering spaces, supporting daily needs, and influencing how people experience the area. Alongside housing, these commercial centers help establish the foundation for how a community will function and grow.

Creating successful retail developments requires thoughtful planning and strong collaboration between community stakeholders, developers, municipalities, utility providers, engineers, contractors, and investors. Market knowledge, technical expertise, and execution all play an important role, but long-term success is often driven by something less visible: the power of connection.

In communities experiencing rapid growth, these connections help ensure retail spaces are positioned to operate successfully from day one and continue supporting the community well into the future.

The most successful development teams often create value in the spaces in between the formal scopes of work, where coordination, timing, and industry relationships can shape a project’s long-term success. Projects that move efficiently from concept to completion often depend on stakeholders being aligned early, even before challenges fully emerge. Because teams working across the full development lifecycle can see projects from multiple perspectives, they are often able to identify opportunities others may miss. Atwell applies this approach by helping connect the people, resources, and expertise needed to keep projects moving forward, even when a clear path does not yet exist. Through our family of companies, we provide resources spanning the full project lifecycle, and we bring the right people together to create solutions and build new possibilities. These connections often happen outside formal project scopes, in conversations or introductions that bring the right expertise together at the right moment.

The “spaces in between”: Turning process insight into opportunity

Commercial retail projects face obstacles when there is disconnect across teams, processes, or community requirements. These “spaces in between” can create delays, inconsistencies, and missed opportunities if teams are not aligned.

For example, a developer may manage projects across the country and need support tailored to the unique requirements of each community. When different teams operate independently without collaboration, the project experience and outcomes can vary. Atwell functions as a national team with local expertise to create a consistent approach across every project. We connect teams, partners, and services to help turn ideas into reality while maintaining accuracy from start to finish. Additionally, a brand may need to follow the same rules, guidelines, and processes, no matter where they are operating. Our in-house teams take the time to understand those standards so we can provide seamless support across markets and communities.

If additional expertise is needed, we connect clients with the right teams across our network and family of companies. We also make sure everyone involved understands the project goals, requirements, and next steps from the start.

Instead of just advocating for our clients, we help connect them with the people, resources, and solutions needed to keep projects moving forward and bring them to completion by truly understanding their goals.

Creating connections that drive better development outcomes

Our team excels at thinking beyond traditional solutions. By combining technical expertise with strong industry relationships, we often identify opportunities others might miss.

Jesse Conrad, Vice President at Atwell, recently shared an example from a recent initiative. “I was meeting with a national home builder that was planning a new residential community,” said Conrad. “During our conversations, they shared that one of their biggest goals was creating a place where residents could truly live, work, and shop without leaving the area. Around the same time, one of our commercial clients noted also looking for opportunities to bring shopping and dining options into growing markets and specifically that submarket. It became clear that the two organizations could benefit from knowing each other.”

“Rather than treating those conversations separately, we made the introduction and helped bring both sides to the table early in the planning process. What started as two independent projects quickly turned into a collaborative vision for a more connected community. Moments like that show the value of understanding our clients’ broader goals and knowing when the right connection can create new opportunities for everyone involved, creating win-win opportunities for our clients, the community and it’s future residents.”

While these started as separate projects, it ultimately led to a new working relationship between two organizations that shared the same end goal. In industries as integrated as commercial retail, these relationships often become the foundation for future projects.

Why Atwell is positioned to make these connections

Atwell works across the full project lifecycle, offering solutions that start from due diligence and continue through opening day, with consistency, program knowledge, and value provided every step of the way.

Our family of companies expands the expertise we can bring to every project. Because we collaborate with developers, utilities, municipalities, and contractors nationwide, we often see opportunities to connect partners who can solve challenges together.

This perspective helps us identify opportunities others may overlook by connecting ideas, expertise, and resources across organizations to create stronger commercial retail experiences and more connected communities.

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The data center development boom is unlike anything the infrastructure industry has seen in decades. AI adoption has dramatically accelerated demand for power, and developers are racing to secure land, permits, and utility capacity at a pace the grid and broader utility ecosystem were never designed to support. The result is a complex challenge that is forcing developers to rethink not just where they build, but how they power their facilities from the moment they break ground.

The tension is straightforward: developers want power now, and the grid can’t deliver it fast enough. Understanding why and what options exist in the interim is essential for any developer.

The grid constraint is reshaping development strategy

Connecting to the utility grid remains the most cost-effective long-term power solution for data centers. Grid power, purchased at commercial or industrial rates, is significantly cheaper than building and maintaining on-site generation. The problem is the timeline. Depending on the market, a meaningful grid connection can take several years when you factor in land acquisition, infrastructure planning, permitting, and construction. For a developer who wants to be operational “tomorrow,” that timeline is untenable.

Compounding the delay is a significant community relations challenge for utilities and developers. In many states and municipalities, data centers have become a flashpoint for community opposition, not necessarily because of the facilities themselves, but because of misperceptions around electricity rates and environmental impact. Many residents fear that data centers will drive up their electricity bills, even though developers typically purchase power at separate commercial rates and do not burden the residential rate base. Utilities are caught between pursuing large commercial load growth opportunities and navigating public utility commission scrutiny, ratepayer concerns, and political pressure around infrastructure expansion. Water consumption has also become a growing point of public scrutiny, particularly in water-stressed regions, even as newer facilities increasingly rely on closed-loop and more efficient cooling technologies. The perception gap between environmental impact and community concern remains wide, adding another layer of complexity to development projects.

Bridge power: A growing menu of options

Given the grid access timeline, a wide range of “behind-the-meter” and temporary power solutions have emerged. These are not new concepts, but the scale and urgency of data center demand have elevated them into mainstream planning conversations. Here is where the market currently stands:

Fuel cells. Natural gas-powered fuel cells have become one of the more prominent bridge solutions. Companies have established a meaningful foothold in the data center market. Fuel cells offer a relatively clean, scalable power source, and while they come at a cost premium over grid power, they are increasingly viewed as a viable interim or supplementary solution.

Gas turbines. Gas-fired turbines have historically been a go-to for on-site power generation, but the market is currently constrained. Turbine manufacturers are facing significant backlogs driven by simultaneous demand from data centers, power generation facilities, and natural gas compressor stations. Developers who want turbines need to place orders and commit capital well in advance, with delivery timelines that rival the grid itself.

Battery storage. Battery energy storage systems are an increasingly common component of the bridge power toolkit, often deployed in combination with other generation sources. They provide flexibility and resiliency, though they are not often a standalone solution for the sustained power loads that large-scale data centers require.

Diesel and dual-fuel generators. Diesel and propane generators remain in the mix as backup and supplementary sources. Their capacity limitations, however, make them better suited to redundancy roles than primary power for hyperscale or large regional facilities.

Wind and solar. Renewable generation is viable in the right circumstances, but the land footprint required to generate meaningful megawatts can be substantial. Developers who can integrate a solar or wind component into a larger site plan may find these options increasingly attractive, particularly as permitting for smaller distributed sites becomes more common.

The decision framework: Cost, speed, and long-term fit

For most developers, the conversation around bridge power comes down to a tradeoff: is the cost of a temporary or permanent behind-the-meter solution worth it compared to waiting for grid access? Well-capitalized developers like large hyperscalers and institutional players often have the balance sheet to pursue either path. The decision becomes more nuanced for mid-market developers working with tighter margins.

The key variables are rarely just financial. Speed to market, site-specific constraints, local regulatory dynamics, and the developer’s long-term operational strategy all factor in. A developer with a site near an existing substation faces fundamentally different considerations than one in a greenfield location with no nearby infrastructure. Getting the analysis right from the outset before land is committed or capital is deployed is where strategic planning makes the biggest difference.

Looking ahead at a market in transition

The current pace of data center development is extraordinary, but it will likely moderate somewhat. The land-acquisition frenzy of the past 18 to 24 months is beginning to encounter the natural limits of grid capacity, equipment supply chains, and public acceptance. The market is not stopping as AI adoption has created a demand curve that is not going to reverse but it is maturing.

One meaningful shift on the horizon is a move toward smaller, more efficient facilities. As chip technology advances, data centers will be able to do more with less space and less power. A portfolio of five 20-acre facilities may ultimately replace the need for a single 100-acre hyperscale campus. That model is both easier to permit and more resilient from an infrastructure standpoint. The underlying demand for power will continue to grow; the physical footprint required to meet it may not grow at the same rate.

The importance of creating a strategy to meet the needs of today

Navigating the intersection of land, power, permitting, and infrastructure planning requires an integrated strategy from the outset.

The most effective engagements begin early, well before a site is selected, before a power strategy is committed, and before regulatory exposure is locked in. Our role as a strategic partner is to help developers understand the full landscape of options, stress-test their assumptions, and build a plan that is grounded in what is actually achievable in a given market and timeline.

The challenges shaping data center development today are not going away. But for developers who approach them with the right team and the right plan, they are navigable.

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The energy at ICSC Las Vegas

As a first timer at ICSC Las Vegas this year, I was impressed by the sheer size of the event. I previously attended ICSC events in both San Antonio and Dallas, so I expected strong networking opportunities and valuable conversations. However, Las Vegas brought together professionals from across the country in a way that felt uniquely energizing. To describe the energy there, it was a buzz of networking, collaboration, and conversations. Attendees included developers, brokers, engineers, planners, retailers, and consultants who are all helping shape the future of retail development.

ICSC Las Vegas felt both fast-paced and purposeful. My schedule was filled with meetings, which led to great conversations about future opportunities, and helped deepen my professional relationships through face-to-face interactions. The event reinforced something that is easy to overlook in the industry: connection is still critical in commercial retail development.

The impact of relationship-based collaboration 

The event reminded me that there is still so much value in just being in the same room as clients, colleagues, and industry partners. During my time at the event, I had the opportunity to meet with people who I have worked with across projects but had never met in person. Those conversations were meaningful to me. They created a deeper personal foundation that will positively impact the relationships I have both inside and outside of the office.

Commercial retail development projects depend on coordination between many moving parts. Project success requires collaboration between teams managing land development, surveying, engineering, planning, permitting, utilities, and construction timelines. Strong relationships are what bridge the gaps to help processes move forward more efficiently. These relationships help people communicate more openly, solve problems faster, and better understand goals.

That human element was one of the biggest takeaways from the event. Relationships remain the foundation behind successful projects, even in an industry driven by technical expertise and execution. In-person conversations allow for stronger communication and establish an understanding that can’t always be replicated virtually.

The human side of the industry 

ICSC also highlighted how important collaboration is as the retail industry continues to evolve. Developers and retailers are navigating hurdles like shifting consumer expectations, changing markets, redevelopment opportunities, and growing communities that need thoughtfully planned commercial spaces. To overcome these challenges, both technical knowledge and partnerships between professionals who can work together effectively are necessary.

At Atwell, we see how that collaboration plays out every day. Our teams work alongside clients from the earliest planning stages through project completion to help navigate challenges and keep projects moving forward. Events like ICSC create opportunities to strengthen those relationships beyond the day-to-day work of meetings, deadlines, and deliverables. This time we get to spend together in person allows for more meaningful conversations and helps us deeper understand how to support clients as their needs continue to evolve.

The business value of being present   

Another takeaway from the event was the level of passion shared across the industry. The professionals attending ICSC weren’t just there to exchange business cards or discuss transactions. There was genuine enthusiasm around creating spaces that support businesses, strengthen communities, and drive economic growth. That energy was visible from discussions about new retail trends to conversations about redevelopment and expansion opportunities across the country.

Maintaining presence will remain essential as the commercial retail industry continues to move quickly. Schedules will continue to fill up, projects will continue to grow in complexity, and technology will continue changing how teams communicate. Events like ICSC Vegas are a reminder that in-person interaction still plays an important role in building momentum and moving projects forward successfully.

The takeaways   

Leaving ICSC, I am walking away with a renewed appreciation for the value of connection within this industry. The face-to-face experiences I had throughout the event reinforced how important relationships are in the work we do. Strong partnerships help projects succeed and are often strengthened most through time spent together. ICSC Las Vegas was a great reminder that behind every commercial retail project are people working together to solve challenges, create opportunities, and build lasting relationships that continue well beyond the event itself.

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As we move through 2026, many developers and owners remain focused on growth, continuing to advance projects with confidence. Still, uncertainty is influencing how decisions are made, encouraging a more measured and strategic approach to development. What we have found is that the developers who succeed when volatility does emerge will be those who are already navigating the fog by building with discipline and exploring creative solutions to achieve their end goals.

Fundamentals are fundamental for a reason 

Even in stable periods, strong fundamentals are what prepare projects to withstand future market shifts. Disciplined real estate and land development begins with choosing the right location for your project. Following demand drivers, such as job growth, infrastructure investment, demographic trends, and long-term community viability, will lead to the right location choice. From there, success depends on realistic underwriting, a phased execution of the project, and a deep understanding of the market

Looking ahead, several trends could influence future shifts. In the current market, labor force growth is slowing, largely due to changes in immigration policy. From 2020 to 2024, the majority of U.S. population growth came from immigration. As immigration slows, overall economic growth may moderate, potentially influencing housing demand.
Construction labor shortages are also expected to intensify. Current demographics show that growth in the Sun Belt states is slowing, while some population growth is returning to historically slower-growth regions such as the Snow Belt states. Climate factors, healthcare costs, and the housing “lock-in effect,” where homeowners keep lower mortgage rates, are influencing mobility and reducing relocation rates.

Growth is being redistributed across different markets. Developers who understand these shifts today will be better positioned to respond if and when conditions tighten. A smart developer will look at which populations are growing, where they are relocating, and what types of housing those communities will need.

Ask the right questions  

We’ve found that due diligence is key to success. Successful developers will also spend time understanding their end user. Asking questions, such as, “Who are we building for? What problem does this project solve? And will that need still exist five, ten, or twenty years from now?” Staying on top of trends and paying attention to demographics will lead to smart decision-making. The real estate industry has now shown that what was once considered niche can quickly become essential.

Project sectors such as data centers, senior housing, medical offices, student housing, and self-storage are not only here to stay, but play critical roles in supporting societal needs. They serve digital infrastructure, the aging population, healthcare demands, and housing supply constraints. The current rise of formerly niche sectors and subsectors to essential property types is opening the door to new options that may be essential in the decades ahead. These sectors also demonstrate how quickly demand can evolve, reinforcing the importance of building with flexibility in mind.

Disciplined developers do not build for the next quarter. They build for the next generation.

Patience is key  

When volatility does enter the market, it often rewards patience and creates opportunities for developers who value resilience. Reacting to short-term market swings or acting on assumptions will not pay off in the long-term. Instead, developers should spend time stress-testing their assumptions and prioritizing projects that align with long-term demand and operational sustainability.

When periods of uncertainty occur, they can reduce competition, recalibrate land pricing, and encourage municipalities to partner more closely with experienced development teams. For firms prepared with capital, strong relationships, and the right internal expertise, these moments can lay the groundwork for the next cycle of growth.

Move with intention and collaboration 

Disciplined development does not mean slowing down but rather moving forward with intention. Intentional decision-making starts with identifying resilient geographies and sectors that align with changing demographics, advancing technology, and shifting consumer demands. These insights help developers build a clear plan for the future.

That planning becomes even more critical for larger or more complex developments, where early decisions can significantly impact risk, cost, and long-term performance. Developers should establish a thoughtful phasing strategy that allows projects to progress in manageable stages, helping preserve capital while maintaining flexibility as market conditions evolve.

A strategic approach to infrastructure is equally important. Designing systems to scale over time, rather than building everything upfront in phase one, can reduce unnecessary upfront costs and align investment with actual demand. Together, these considerations reinforce the value of proactive, disciplined planning from the outset.

Once that plan is in place, coordinating early across disciplines helps projects move forward by identifying risks early and managing costs more effectively.

Navigating change 

Market conditions will inevitably shift over time, but disciplined developers prepare for that reality rather than reacting to it. That discipline shows up in the partners developers choose and the flexibility they build into their projects. Having the right service providers is a critical component.

A civil engineer who approaches a project with a developer’s mindset can identify opportunities to reduce costs without compromising performance, from minimizing retaining walls and excessive over-excavation to avoiding unnecessarily deep utilities. Thoughtful site design that balances cut and fill can significantly reduce earthwork costs and improve overall project efficiency, helping keep projects financially viable while still meeting design and regulatory requirements.

At the same time, versatile zoning serves as another key lever for navigating uncertainty. Securing broader entitlements expands the potential buyer pool and positions a development to adapt as market conditions shift. Mixed-use zoning or a flexible Planned Development framework allows developers to pivot between uses, whether residential, commercial, or industrial, without restarting the entitlement process. This flexibility reduces risk and helps maintain momentum, enabling projects to respond to evolving demand and capture new opportunities as they emerge.

Developers who plan for change and have a long-term strategy are better positioned to stay resilient across cycles. They plan through uncertainty rather than trying to outrun it, recognizing that cycles are inevitable and that lasting value is created by teams who remain steady as conditions fluctuate. Keeping a close eye on demographics, labor trends, and emerging sectors is essential to making informed decisions that hold up over time.

In the end, success is less about responding to today’s conditions and more about being prepared for tomorrow’s shifts. Developers who take this approach are better positioned to manage risk, control costs, and create projects that hold their value over time.

The post Why disciplined real estate and land development wins when markets shift appeared first on Atwell.

When a gas utility or pipeline company decides to expand its system, the first instinct is to focus on engineering, route design, pipe specs, construction timelines. But experienced project teams know that a different workstream quietly drives the entire schedule: Right-of-way (ROW) acquisition. Get it right, and a project moves efficiently from planning to construction. Get it wrong, and costs escalate, timelines slip, and community relationships fracture in ways that are difficult to repair.

What ROW acquisition involves

At its core, ROW acquisition is the process of securing legal agreements and rights, typically in the form of an easement or surface lease, for a pipeline to cross private land and permit for crossing public land. Unlike a fee purchase, an easement allows the landowner to retain ownership and continue using their property; it simply grants the pipeline operator the right to install, operate, maintain, and access the line in a defined location. Once the pipeline is in the ground, it is unseen and landowners can farm over it, pave over it, and continue using the surface as before, as long as their use does not hinder the operation and maintenance of the pipeline.

But the work involved in getting there is anything but simple. A large pipeline project can cross hundreds or even thousands of individual parcels, each with its own ownership structure, title history, liens, and stakeholder dynamics. The ROW team must research every parcel, identify every interest holder, make initial contact with landowners, secure survey access, accompany field crews, and negotiate easement agreements, all while serving as the public face of the project.

There is also a construction phase where ROW agents remain active during construction to notify landowners ahead of crew arrivals, manage any surface damage claims, and resolve issues that may arise if equipment strays outside its permitted footprint.

Why ROW is a critical path activity

In project planning, a “critical path” activity is one where any delay directly impacts the overall project schedule. ROW acquisition earns that designation for several reasons.

First, construction cannot begin until the easements and permits are secured. No easement, no pipe in the ground. Second, ROW timelines are inherently unpredictable. Landowner negotiations can stall, title research can surface unexpected complications, and eminent domain proceedings, when necessary, add legal timelines that no team controls. Third, cost implications are significant. Easement acquisition costs, appraisal fees, legal expenses, and potential condemnation proceedings must all be estimated and budgeted well in advance, often years before a shovel hits the ground.

Finally, landowner and community opposition is a consistent source of project friction. As Gary Bland, Director at Atwell in the Houston office, notes “Pipeline projects aren’t always the most popular thing to introduce into a community. It’s a necessary and important function though in cities, towns and rural communities everywhere.” That reality shapes everything about how a ROW campaign should be planned and executed. Proactive, transparent engagement with affected property owners and community leaders is one of the most powerful tools a project team has.

Essential strategic steps before field deployment

By the time a ROW agent knocks on the first door, the outcome of the campaign is often already set.  Effective pre-deployment preparation includes several interconnected activities. Route analysis and landowner identification using GIS and public data to evaluate alignment options, estimate parcel counts, assess property types and values, and identify existing infrastructure corridors that might reduce the footprint on undisturbed land. Title research and ownership verification ensure that when a ROW agent sits across the table from a landowner, they understand every interest in that property (ownership, mortgages, liens, and other encumbrances) that could affect the agreement. Cost estimation must account not just for today’s land values but projected values across a multi-year project timeline.

Community and stakeholder outreach, ideally beginning with elected officials and community leaders, ensures that key voices hear the project’s story directly. Bland is direct on this point: ” The worst outcome is when community leaders hear about a project from concerned constituents instead of directly from you. Hearing it from you first sets the right tone from the start.” Stakeholders who feel informed and respected are far more likely to facilitate, rather than oppose, a project moving forward.

The advantage of integrated services

One factor that meaningfully improves ROW outcomes is the integration of land, survey, engineering, and environmental services under a single coordinated project team. These disciplines are deeply interdependent. ROW agents must secure survey access before field crews can mobilize. Surveyors need title information to thoughtfully plan their work. Land acquisition teams need finalized survey plats before they can execute binding agreements with landowners.

When these functions operate in silos, with separate vendors pursuing their own timelines, handoffs break down. As Bland describes it: “You’re often going to have a breakdown. They’re not focused on working with others but rather on keeping their tasks on time.”

By contrast, when land, survey, and environmental teams are aligned from day one, the project moves as a single, coordinated effort rather than  a collection of competing priorities. Data is shared in real time, schedules are aligned, and accountability is clear, giving clients greater confidence that every piece of the project is moving forward together. Bland notes that success and trust come from that kind of execution: “Projects are successful when all disciplines work closely and that’s often how we see long-term relationships grow.”

Long term projects illustrate the complexity of ROW

A current Atwell engagement illustrates this at scale. A gas distribution utility is planning a trunk line system of more than 300 miles, designed to serve the region’s continued outward growth. The project will cross approximately 3,000 parcels and is expected to span several years, with construction advancing in preplanned annual segments determined by growth projections.

The work currently underway is precisely the kind of pre-deployment preparation described above: building GIS-based ownership inventories, routing alignments to minimize impact, engaging appraisers for multi-year cost projections, and beginning outreach to community leaders. The utility’s public-facing profile has made stakeholder communication a priority and that posture has created space to approach the work the right way. “They’re really focused on their public reputation and quality engagement,” Bland notes, “so it allows us to spend more time and effort to try to make this effort a win for the community.”

Preparation is the project

ROW acquisition is not a checkbox, it’s a sustained, relationship-driven discipline that shapes every aspect of a pipeline project. Teams that treat it as a strategic function, and invest early, consistently outperform those that treat it as an afterthought. In a business where projects take years and mistakes are costly, that difference isn’t minor, it’s everything.

The post Why right-of-way is the most important schedule driver in pipeline projects appeared first on Atwell.

Large, complex developments, such as data centers or advanced manufacturing facilities, require coordination among many specialists. Developers, utilities, engineers, municipalities, contractors, and investors all work together to move a project forward. Sound market knowledge, technical expertise, and proper execution are all essential, but one of the most valuable drivers of success is often overlooked: the power of connection.

In fast-growing sectors where timelines are tight and infrastructure demands are high, these connections often determine how quickly a project can move from concept to construction.

Atwell excels not only in our technical expertise but also in the spaces in between. We connect people, solve challenges, and help projects move forward even when a clear path does not yet exist. Because we support projects from concept through completion, our team often sees opportunities others may miss. Through our family of companies, we provide resources spanning the full project lifecycle, and we bring the right people together to create solutions and build new possibilities. These connections often happen outside formal project scopes, in conversations or introductions that bring the right expertise together at the right moment.

The “spaces in between”: where projects move forward 

Many projects stall not just because of technical barriers, but also because the right relationships have not yet been formed.

For example, a developer may need power solutions, and a utility may have capacity but lack a partner to execute quickly. Atwell sits at the intersection of these conversations and can introduce teams or partners who can turn a project from an idea to a reality.

In other cases, a municipality may be seeking economic growth while a developer is searching for the right location for their project. Our in-house teams leverage their industry relationships while prioritizing thoughtful community engagement to make the right introductions. When those priorities align, new opportunities emerge that benefit both the community and the project.

Our national presence with local expertise enables us to build connections at every level needed to bring a project to completion. If we do not have the solution, someone in our network or family of companies will, and we will help to make that connection. We not only advocate for our clients but also connect them with the people and resources they need to get the job done.

Creating connections that unlock opportunities 

Our team excels at thinking beyond traditional solutions. By combining technical expertise with strong industry relationships, we often identify opportunities others might miss.

James Hall, Executive Vice President of Special Projects, recently shared an example from a data center conference.

“I was wrapping up a meeting with a potential client and was running late to meet with an existing client,” Hall said. “Instead of cutting the conversation short, I suggested they join me for the next meeting because I believed their two companies should meet. This was a bit of a risky move that turned out to be the right call. The introduction created a strong connection between their two organizations and opened the door to new opportunities not just for the industry but also for our team. Sometimes thinking on your feet and bringing the right people together can make all the difference.” Moments like these happen in the spaces in between, when the right introduction at the right time brings new partnerships and projects to life.

While the conversation started as a simple introduction, it ultimately led to a new working relationship between two organizations that may not have otherwise connected. In industries as collaborative as data center development, these relationships often become the foundation for future projects.

Why Atwell is positioned to make these connections 

Atwell works across the full project lifecycle, offering solutions from site selection and due diligence to engineering, permitting, construction management, and power delivery solutions.

Our family of companies expands the expertise we can bring to every project. Because we collaborate with developers, utilities, municipalities, and contractors nationwide, we often see opportunities to connect partners who can solve challenges together.

This perspective allows us to identify connections that others may not see—linking ideas, expertise, and resources across organizations to keep projects moving forward.

Connection fuels progress 

Progress on complex projects rarely happens in isolation. It happens through collaboration, shared expertise, and relationships built over time. By working in the spaces in between—connecting the right people, ideas, and resources—opportunities can be transformed into real projects that move industries and communities forward.

The post The spaces in between: How the right relationships can move complex energy developments forward appeared first on Atwell.

There’s a reason that leading corporations (and engineering and infrastructure firms) are paying close attention to Nashville. The city, long known for its music scene and Southern charm, has quietly become one of the most dynamic and strategically important markets in the country. And Atwell is leaning in.

Over the past year, Atwell has been steadily enhancing its Nashville presence, building a team that now numbers close to a dozen professionals. That growth hasn’t happened by accident. It reflects a distinct recognition that Nashville sits at the intersection of several of the most active sectors in land development and civil engineering: mixed-use urban, healthcare infrastructure, and fast-moving private development. For a firm with national reach and local talent, the timing couldn’t be better.

Nashville’s appeal starts with its economics. The city has emerged as a major healthcare hub serving as home to HCA Healthcare, the largest for-profit hospital operator in the country, along with other significant operators, including Community Health Systems and Acadia Healthcare. These companies don’t just bring hospitals; they bring corporate operations and project pipelines that stretch across dozens of states.

For a national engineering firm with leading professionals that know and love Nashville, it creates a powerful dynamic: local relationships with decision-makers, combined with the ability to leverage experience across dozens of cities. It’s an efficient model that turns local presence into national productivity.

Beyond healthcare, Nashville’s core has experienced a sustained wave of mixed-use and multi-family development. Infill projects combining residential density with retail components have reshaped entire neighborhoods, attracting developers who value teams that can move quickly, communicate clearly, and manage multiple active projects simultaneously. This complex, fast-paced, client-service-oriented work is precisely the kind of market where Atwell’s culture and capabilities shine.

The foundation for Atwell’s Nashville operation was laid through years of relationship-building and market development, with team members already active in the region before the recent growth in staffing. That groundwork, which included establishing credibility, connecting with local developers, and building familiarity with the local landscape has positioned the office for accelerated growth.

One recent addition to the team reflects both the office’s momentum and the caliber of talent it is attracting. Matthew Hamby, a Nashville native and Tennessee Tech University graduate, joined Atwell as Senior Director with nearly a decade of experience in the AEC industry, along with additional consulting leadership experience. Hamby’s background spans some of the sectors with the greatest opportunity in the region. He has built deep client relationships across the Nashville development community and brings firsthand knowledge of the local market’s rhythms, players, and opportunities.

What drew Hamby to Atwell, he says, wasn’t just the work, but the culture. He was drawn to a privately owned company that prioritizes its people, its clients, and long-term relationship-building over short-term projects. “I’m a true believer that a rising tide raises all ships,” Hamby said. “Being part of a firm where the focus is on process improvement, training, and genuine client service is exactly where I wanted to be for the long haul.”

That entrepreneurial mindset and client-first philosophy aligns naturally with how Atwell operates, and it’s the kind of perspective the Nashville office will emphasize as it continues to grow. Hamby’s arrival adds senior-level depth to a team already gaining traction in the market and signals that the office is entering a new phase of development. The combination of a thriving healthcare economy, an active private development community, strong population growth, and an increasingly sophisticated urban core makes Tennessee one of the most compelling regions in the Southeast.

With an expanding local team, a growing project portfolio, and leadership that knows the market from the ground up, Atwell’s Nashville office is positioned to grow with the city and to help shape what it becomes.

The post How Atwell is deepening its roots in Nashville appeared first on Atwell.