What Retailers Get Wrong About Site Selection | Ben Crowder, Bohler

Why It Matters

Early, integrated site analysis prevents costly redesigns and entitlement setbacks, safeguarding retail profitability and customer experience.

Key Takeaways

• Assess existing site conditions early to avoid costly entitlement surprises.
• Integrate engineering, planning, and landscape teams for holistic site design.
• Prioritize access, parking, and circulation to maintain tenant experience.
• Design drive‑throughs with realistic peak‑hour traffic models and buffers.
• Engage municipalities early, presenting data‑driven studies for approvals.

Summary

The episode of Commercial Real Estate Now focuses on retail site selection, featuring Bohler principal Ben Crowder. He explains how Bohler’s owner‑developer mindset and integrated engineering, planning, and landscape services help developers evaluate sites early, reducing soft‑cost overruns and entitlement delays. Crowder highlights several critical insights: the need to scrutinize existing site conditions before redesign, the importance of access, parking, and circulation in preserving the overall tenant experience, and the evolving expectations for curb appeal, walkability, and EV‑charging integration. He also warns that drive‑throughs often become over‑rotated, stressing realistic peak‑hour traffic modeling and contingency planning. Examples from the conversation include a Tesla owner’s struggle to reach a retail outlet due to inadequate pathways, and the practice of presenting real‑world operational data to municipalities to smooth approvals. Crowder stresses that developers must bring data‑driven studies and early municipal engagement to avoid surprise restrictions. The broader implication is that retailers and developers who adopt a holistic, data‑centric approach can control soft costs, accelerate approvals, and create sites that support both new quick‑serve concepts and legacy tenants, ultimately protecting revenue and brand experience.

Original Description

In this episode of Commercial Real Estate Now, host Karly Iacono sits down with Ben Crowder, Principal at Bohler, to break down the engineering and site planning realities behind retail development today.

Ben shares what retailers and developers consistently miss when evaluating sites, from overlooking existing site conditions to underestimating the entitlement process and explains why bringing in an engineer before signing an LOI can be the difference between a smooth approval and a costly mistake.

Topics covered:

-The #1 mistake retailers make in site selection (and what to look for instead)

-How the definition of a "good retail site" has evolved over the last 5–10 years

-Drive-through design: stacking and mobile pick up

-Gas/convenience: high trip generation, access challenges, and site sizing

-Power availability and EV charging as new gating factors in retail development

-Mall and big box repositioning: flipping inside to outside, mixed-use conversions, and the "walking wallets" strategy

-Why landscape architecture and outdoor activation are no longer afterthoughts

➡️ Learn More About Bohler Here: https://bohlerengineering.com/

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