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Federal Realty and brokers tell council permitting delays and high capital costs impede retail redevelopment
Summary
Federal Realty and local brokers gave examples of regulatory delays (6-month site-plan amendments) and rising capital costs, and suggested incentives such as TIF, sales-tax increment financing, and targeted subsidies to make redevelopment viable.
Jeff Sharp, vice president of development for Federal Realty, described site-specific examples of regulatory delay and cost that he said impede landlords from redeveloping or improving retail sites. He recounted two recent local cases at Wildwood Shopping Center where changing a tenant use and adding an 800-square-foot cooler each required approvals that added roughly six months and "tens of thousands of dollars" to the projects.
"It took over 6 months, added tens of thousands of dollars of cost to opening that business," Sharp said, describing how zoning and site-plan requirements can slow or raise the cost of otherwise modest improvements. He emphasized that BOPIS/curbside and other tenant-driven changes require circulation, short-term parking, or infrastructure adjustments that raise retrofit costs.
Panelists including Phil Rockston and Veronica Camara urged the county to consider incentive tools used elsewhere (sales tax increment/TIF, community improvement districts, targeted tenant grants) to help bridge high capital costs and make infill redevelopment feasible in an era of high interest rates. Council members asked staff to examine streamlined permitting and targeted incentives in advance of budget discussions; no formal subsidy program was adopted at the briefing.
