From May 21 to May 24, several city staff and councilmembers traveled to the largest conference of developers, retailers and cities in the world to represent San Gabriel. Known as the Real Estate Convention (RECon) in Las Vegas, Nevada, this conference – hosted by the International Council of Shopping Centers – allowed attendees to develop important connections with other industry influencers. For San Gabriel, this convention allowed city staff and councilmembers to network with developers and retailers that could potentially help develop underutilized land in the city.
“Developers, retailers, service providers, vendors and cities all attend this convention,” said Economic Development Manager Angelica Frausto-Lupo. “If you’re a developer, you’re looking for available land or development sites. If you’re a city, you’re looking for specific retailers, and if you’re a service provider or vendor, you’re looking to sell your product.”
With a newly designed booth and a renewed messaging campaign, San Gabriel (along with 26 other partner cities in the San Gabriel Valley) redefined its presence at the convention, drawing in significant numbers of influential retailers and developers interested in investing in the city. “We essentially doubled our booth size, giving us additional room to meet with developers and to showcase all the great things in San Gabriel,” said Community Development Director Arminé Chaparyan. “This was done as part of a comprehensive marketing program to market the City of San Gabriel along with other cities in the San Gabriel Valley.”
San Gabriel’s expanded presence at the ICSC conference addresses resident requests for a greater variety of retail opportunities, allowing city officials to network and connect with influential retailers and developers interested in expanding their presence in the community. “Our residents have been telling us that they want a variety of retail opportunities and a mix of types of retail, and that’s exactly what we were soliciting at the ICSC conference. Not only were we actively promoting the city, but we were meeting with retailers that our residents have been asking for,” Chaparyan said.
For more information about the city’s participation in RECon, please contact Economic Development Manager Angelica Frausto-Lupo at 626.308.2826, ext. 222.