The retail industry is facing the greatest amount of development and redevelopment activity since 2010. To meet the increased demand for retail project management and development expertise, JLL announced the expansion of its retail team with the addition of Bill Moston. Moston joins JLL as a Senior Vice President, National Retail Development and brings nearly 30 years of experience to JLL. He will be based out of the firm’s Chicago office. In his new role, Moston will be responsible for advising JLL’s clients and executing on ground-up retail projects, redevelopments and renovations across the United States, as well as managing anchor store negotiations and tenant coordination.
“Adding Bill to our development team will allow JLL to better advise its clients seeking to update or create new retail space. His experience counseling and partnering with owners and investors on how to best align projects with market demand and retailer requirements will provide a huge advantage to JLL’s clients,” Larry Jensen, Senior Director of Retail Development at JLL.
JLL research indicates that nearly 50 million square feet of retail spaces was delivered in 2014 with general retail space, including the construction of urban storefronts, driving the development market. The uptick in mall construction has also grown significantly, with total U.S. mall deliveries in 2014 rising nearly 43 percent year-over-year.
“Shopping center owners and investors held off updating their centers during the downturn, but now we’re finally seeing these assets getting capital allocated for renovations or expansions,” said Moston. “I am thrilled to join JLL and look forward to growing the retail development business, and partnering with owners on their development and construction needs during this exciting time for the retail industry.”
Moston started his career in retail at the Homart Development Company, and then led regional development and redevelopment teams for General Growth Properties for more than 10 years. In 2006, Moston jumped to the investment side of the business, and spent time at the Archon Group, a Goldman Sachs Company, where he was responsible for sourcing and developing retail investment opportunities. Following Archon, Moston was with JP Morgan and most recently served as a Relationship Manager at Credit Suisse. Moston has overseen a variety of development and redevelopment projects from mall renovations to open air mixed use projects totaling more than 20 million square feet of retail space across the country. Moston holds a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame.
According to JLL research, Dallas, Houston and Washington, D.C. rank the top markets for overall retail construction activity by square feet. New York City and Miami take the top slots for the most construction as percentage of total square feet, with more than one percent of their total retail gross leasable area under construction.
