BRR's Ty Holcomb Leads Dallas-Fort Worth Retail Discussion
The 2026 InterFace Dallas-Fort Worth Retail Conference recently brought thought leaders from across the metro together to discuss trends, insights and predictions for the retail market. Principal and Dallas office leader Ty Holcomb led a panel discussion with local developers, owners and investors working in the space.
The conversation focused on how retail projects are evolving to meet changing consumer expectations, from grocery-anchored centers paired with lifestyle tenants to placemaking and the reuse of existing retail centers. The panel was made up of six experienced DFW-area real estate professionals from SLX Capital, Weitzman, 90Ten, Hillwood, Trademark Property Company and De La Vega Development.
Key themes which emerged in the discussion:
- Grocery-anchored retail is evolving into a hybrid model. Grocery remains the core investment thesis, and capital increasingly follows once a grocer is signed to a project. However, health and wellness tenants, once kept at a distance from grocers over parking concerns, are now actively sought out as neighbors given the daily foot traffic they drive.
- Placemaking is the differentiator. Recently, there has been a shift toward retail centers designed as destinations for community and experience rather than purely transactional shopping trips. Consumers are searching for a "third place" beyond home and work, somewhere to gather and connect. Park space and walkable connectivity are ways developers are responding, even if that means trading away leasable space.
- Renewed interest in adaptive reuse and mall redevelopment. When real estate, demographics and branding align, there are opportunities in repositioning existing retail centers and overlooked malls. Matching a center's facade, design and placemaking to tenant branding is a key factor in redevelopment. This is a notable shift in sentiment from just a few years ago, when traditional malls were not on tenants' radar.
Curious to learn more? Listen to the full panel discussion for an in-depth look at the evolving Dallas-Fort Worth retail market.
