This is a time of unprecedented disruption in main street businesses. Restaurants and street-front retail, the social gathering third places that make urban living vibrant, are struggling. Foot traffic has plunged. Consumer behavior increasingly relies on e-commerce, delivery, and take-out.

Stores have adapted with innovative technology, changes to layouts, updated business models, and by embracing new uses.

This full-day virtual symposium asks experts and local leaders to look at Washington’s retail landscape and answer the questions

• How do we preserve and rebuild a viable retail industry in the metropolitan Washington DC area?
• What roles will design and technology play?
• How do we rebuild the place and purpose of the retail landscape of our communities?

Join us to explore trends and projections for the future of third places. ​

AGENDA

Opening Remarks
9:30 - 10:00am
Mary Fitch AICP, Hon. AIA, Executive Director, AIA|DC
Maury Peiperl, Dean, George Mason University School of Business
Eric Maribojoc, Executive Director, Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship School of Business, George Mason University
Gautham Vadakkepatt, Director of Center for Retail Transformation, School of Business, George Mason University
 

Place and Purpose of Retail        
10:00am - 10:45am
Kristi C. Whitfield, Director of the DC Department of Small and Local Development
                             

Technology Accelerated and the New Store       
11:00am - 12:00pm        
Ricardo Belmar, Retail Technologist
Brandon Rael, Strategy & Operations Innovations Leader

Lunch Break
12:00 – 12:25pm
                                            

Afternoon Keynote: Outlook from the Director of the Office of Planning     
12:25 - 12:45pm              
Andrew Trueblood, Director, DC Office of Planning
                                            

Restoring Places to Gather: Outlook for Restaurants      
12:45 - 1:45pm 
Moderated by: Gautham Vadakkepatt, Director of Center for Retail Transformation, School of Business, George Mason University

Panelists:
Dan Simons, Founder and Co-Owner, Founding Farmers
David Shove-Brown AIA, Partner, Studio 3877
Justin Cox, Founder and CEO, Atlas Brew Works
Scott Parker, Scott Parker Brands
                                            

Microfulfillment Operations in Traditional Retail Spaces             
2:00 - 3:00pm    
Andrew Benzinger, Business Development Manager, Auto Store Systems
Steven​ Duffy, Sr. Vice President of Design, Cuhaci & Peterson Architects, Engineers, Planners
                                            

Beyond Retail: New Forms and Adaptive Reuse
3:15 - 4:15pm    
Moderated by: Eric Maribojoc, Executive Director, Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship School of Business, George Mason University

Panelists:
Michael Wiencek FAIA, President, Wiencek+Associates
Allison Cooke IIDA, LEED AP, Principal, CORE
Sadie Morgan OBE, Co-Founding Director, dRMM
Steve Carboni, Senior Vice President, Rappaport Co.
 

Closing Remarks
4:15-4:30pm

Co-hosted by the Center for Retail Transformation and the Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship of the George Mason School of Business 

Organized in Partnership with The Royal Institute of British Architects