“The best way to get approval is not to need it.”

Hugh MacLeod

Dalton Park turns 10 this year, and it wanted to celebrate with shoppers in a big way. Seems like it succeeded: the center saw 12,000 visitors stopping in to help it celebrate its big day.

The outlet centre has done well for itself in the last ten years, and in the process has done quite well for others. Charitable support is on the rise, for example. In 2012, the center’s fundraising efforts brought in a total of £7,715 for charitable support against £6,120 the previous year.

Jerry Hatch, asset managers for Dalton Park was delighted by that news, saying, “to report an increase in funds raised here on site, despite the tough economic climate is testament to the generosity of our visitors and the local community. We hope to achieve even more throughout 2013.”

The birthday celebrated the center’s successes in a big way, with a great big cake. 350 visitors got together to help decorate the special, enormous Dalton Park 10th birthday cake, and were rewarded with tasty cupcakes—1000 of those were given away to particpants and spectators. Dalton, the center’s mascot, danced with the younger folk that attended, reporting that Gangnam style dance was particularly popular.

There were birthday stiltwalkers, party games like Pinata, Pin the tail on Dalton, Silent Musical Statues, fairground rides, live music and DJing, and a lot more. The center also took the opportunity to launch a car giveaway with a value of £12,000.

The center captured a video of the celebration, and shared it and a photo gallery with shoppers after the event.

Shoppers in Makati City, the Philippines, now know when they can look forward to the next big thing in retail: Century Properties Group Inc has announced that Century City Mall is set to open in Q4 of this year.

The center is designed by global architecture, urbanism and design practice Broadway Malyan, and includes a strong mix of retail, including supermarket, lifestyle and fashion brands, cinema space, and an iconic roof-top garden and bar. It will sit at the heart of the wider Century City development, next door to high-spec office and residential space.

“Century City Mall is an iconic project which is set to transform Makati City and the announcement of the completion date is testament to strong progress on the scheme,” said Ian Simpson, practice director at Broadway Malyan. “Through its distinctive approach to client partnering, our integrated team of world-class design experts is playing a key role on the project, with the quality and finishes sure to set the scheme apart.”

The brainchild of Broadway Malyan, the roof garden is the central design feature of Century City Mall. It will create an open space that ties into the green paths that thread through the development, and it will accomodate stylish al fresco dining and a sensational bar.

“Century City Mall will exemplify the best in modern retail design and architecture,” said Century Properties Co-COO, Marco Antonio. “It will be the most exciting retail development in Makati City after many years. Our team of designers has gone through great lengths to create a place that is truly special. It will offer a wholly distinct retail, leisure and dining experience, from its design and store mix to its lifestyle concepts.”

If electric vehicle adoption picks up—and it may well, with high-end manufacturers like Tesla Motors hard at work developing fully electric vehicles at prices average consumers might be willing to pay—we’re going to need a lot more infrastructure. Last week’s vision of a thousand EVs charging at shopping centers in the not-so-distant future may not be too far out of the realm of possibility.

Vestar is moving to meet the needs of EV-driving customers by installing eight electric charging stations at Tempe Marketplace. Through a partnership with ECOtality, eight Blink charging systems have been placed on both the north and south sides of the center. The systems include handicapped accessible units.

“This sustainable infrastructure enables our customers the ability to charge their electric vehicles while they are enjoying the many offerings at Tempe Marketplace, including our stores, restaurants, movie theatre and other entertainment options,” says Pat McGinley, Vestar’s Vice President of Property Management.

ECOtality is part of The EV Project, a research initiative to help build America’s future EV infrastructure. It analyses existing infrastructure to encourage EV use in key markets.

“Our goal has always been to provide a network of chargers that are conveniently placed where consumers work, shop and play,” stated Greg Fioriti, Chief Revenue Officer, ECOtality Inc. “Situated in a highly-visible and accessible area, Tempe Marketplace is an ideal location for Blink EV charging stations.”

Vestar is already known for its eco-friendly practices, with its GreenStar initiative having made waves as the Southwest’s first large-scale commitment to sustainable shopping center techniques.

Rundle Mall’s redevelopment is big news for shoppers that frequent the seven or eight shopping centers along its length, like Adelaide Arcade and Myer Centre. Stage 1 of the redevelopment starts in March, and folks have been waiting eagerly for it to be wrapped up—it’s expected to wrap up sometime in July.

So Rundle Mall has been keeping shoppers abreast of the redevelopment’s progress, posting updates on Facebook and ensuring everyone is well aware that shops are still open and business continues as usual.

The Adelaide City Council is helping out too, producing a great time lapse to highlight the progress that’s been made so far. If only redevelopment really could move this quickly: