• Investors are seeing new value in the strip mall.
• A lack of supply and an uptick in in-person neighborhood shopping has increased their value.
• One commercial real estate investor called the opportunity a "retail renaissance."

Strip malls, of all things, appear to be trending up.

After decades of decline brought on by the rise of large box stores, e-commerce, and the pandemic, the humble and sometimes derided neighborhood shopping center had long been on the outs. Many retailers shifted focus, buying and building large fulfillment warehouses instead of storefronts.

That's led to a perhaps surprising shift, according to The Wall Street Journal: There is now a dearth of supply of convenient neighborhood shopping centers, and that is driving up the value of existing ones.

Large investors like Blackstone have noticed and are now betting on the lowly strip mall. Blackstone spent $4 billion in November to acquire Retail Opportunity Investments, which owns about 90 shopping centers, most of them anchored by grocery stores.

Blackstone President Jon Gray said at the time that he believes the extreme distress the commercial real estate market has faced in recent years is beginning to ease up. He now sees opportunity in the sector.

"If you were an investor in real estate after the financial crisis, you would have made a lot of money. And my guess is, if you're an investor today, the same thing will happen," he said at an event hosted by Goldman Sachs.

Beyond just the value driven by scarcity, an uptick in in-person shopping also bodes well for the shopping center. Foot traffic to grocery stores was 12% higher in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same time in 2019, before the pandemic, the Journal reported. And there are many small businesses that still attract IRL shoppers, like coffee shops and nail salons. Flexible work schedules are also allowing residents to take quick shopping trips nearby.

James Corl, head of New York-based private real estate group Cohen & Steers, wrote in a September blog post that the investment market for open-air shopping centers amounted to a "retail renaissance." Corl's firm bought a fully leased outdoor shopping mall in San Mateo, California for $127 million last month.

"Open-air shopping centers are the only major property type that is experiencing an acceleration in rental rate growth," Corl said in the blog post. "We believe that a durable acceleration in earnings growth combined with relatively high current yields will propel shopping center investment performance for some time, a reality that the market has yet to fully recognize."

The FBI identified the perpetrator in the New Year's Day attack in New Orleans as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texas man.

Zoom in: New Orleans police fatally shot Jabbar on Bourbon Street in the moments after the attack after he stepped out of his truck and opened fire. He was pronounced dead at the scene, investigators said.

• The attack killed 14 people and injured about 35 others. Read their stories.

Here's what we know about Jabbar:

Early life and military service

Jabbar grew up in Beaumont, Texas, according to the New York Times, whose reporters interviewed Jabbar's half-brother, Abdur Rahim Jabbar IV.

• Jabbar's father grew up Christian, but later converted to Islam. Jabbar converted as well, the newspaper reported.
• Later, Jabbar's mother moved him and some of his siblings to Houston, where Jabbar eventually attended the University of Houston. He lost a scholarship there because of how much he was partying at the time, his half-brother told the Times.

Jabbar's eight-year military career in the U.S. Army began by 2007, during which he made a tour to Afghanistan and earned the Global War on Terrorism medal, the New York Times says.

• After the military, Jabbar earned a degree from Georgia State University, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports.

Recent years

The edges of Jabbar's personal life appear to have been fraying in recent years.

• As he finalized his third divorce, Jabbar was in severe debt by 2021, according to NBC News, which detailed his financial troubles and a short-lived job as a real estate agent before he secured a job at Deloitte. The company confirmed his employment to NBC.

Jabbar was also starting to indicate more radicalized thinking, posting audio recordings online of his own Islamic teachings and stating opinions about what he described as the evils of music, according to The Times-Picayune.

The attack

Jabbar made at least two visits to New Orleans before the New Year's Day attack, FBI investigators said Sunday.

• During those visits, he recorded video of Bourbon Street while wearing Meta glasses.
• Then, in the hours just before the attack, Jabbar posted five videos to Facebook explaining that his actions were inspired by ISIS.

Originally, FBI Deputy assistant director Christopher Raia said Thursday, Jabbar indicated plans to harm his friends and family but worried headlines about the attack wouldn't focus on what Raia quoted as a "war between believers and disbelievers."

• Jabbar "was 100% inspired by ISIS," Raia said, noting that Jabbar said in the videos that he'd joined ISIS before last summer and provided a will and testament.
• Authorities contended Sunday that Jabbar acted alone, adding that there were no indications he had accomplices in the United States but they were still investigating outside of the country.
• He was in Cairo, Egypt, and Ontario, Canada, in the summer of 2023, the FBI said, and were working to confirm the purposes of those trips.

The White Lotus continues to defy expectations by stacking each season with a star-studded cast.

The HBO series, which debuted in 2021, focuses on the guests and employees at a fictional resort as they experience a slew of personal ups and downs while on vacation. The anthology series is also known for a mysterious death — or two — that is eventually revealed at the end of each season.

Season 1 was set in Hawaii and featured an ensemble cast of Murray Bartlett, Connie Britton, Jennifer Coolidge, Alexandra Daddario, Fred Hechinger, Jake Lacy, Brittany O’Grady, Natasha Rothwell, Sydney Sweeney, Steve Zahn and Molly Shannon.

The sophomore season moved to a tropical resort in Sicily with F. Murray Abraham, Coolidge, Adam DiMarco, Meghann Fahy, Beatrice Grannò, Tom Hollander, Sabrina Impacciatore, Michael Imperioli, Theo James, Aubrey Plaza, Haley Lu Richardson, Will Sharpe, Simona Tabasco and Leo Woodall.

Season 3 is set in Thailand, featuring another star-studded cast including Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Walton Goggins, Sarah Catherine Hook, Jason Isaacs, Lalisa Manobal, Michelle Monaghan, Sam Nivola, Lek Patravadi, Parker Posey, Natasha Rothwell, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Tayme Thapthimthong and Aimee Lou Wood.

Keep scrolling for a guide to The White Lotus season 3 cast — including where you previously know them from:

Selling the City‘s Taylor Middleton admitted on screen that she wasn’t sure she would remain married to husband Peter Scavo — but are they still together now?

During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Taylor confirmed that her and Peter were still together and attempting to expand their family after weathering numerous relationship issues — including fertility struggles — on screen.

“It’s a lengthy process. It’s quite complicated and it is a journey. We’re still moving forward on the process,” Taylor noted. “There are just a few surgeries and procedures that need to happen before [IVF], so I would love to be able to speed it up. But I’m with the most amazing doctors and we’re so lucky to have the best resources here in the city.”

Taylor admitted it was “at times tough to watch” her scenes with Peter, which included the couple discussing the possibility of having children.

Couples Who Survived the Reality TV Curse (So Far) 

“[But] being so vulnerable and candid, I don’t know how to be any way other than myself,” she added. “And at the end of the day, you’re seeing a moment. But relationships and marriage [are] life. It mimics life. You have good days and you have bad days.”

Despite showing the more tumultuous sides to her marriage, Taylor says she has remained committed to Peter, adding, “It’s about finding someone that you’re really wanting to go into the trenches with. I’m really lucky to have that in my marriage — but also in a boss and my teammates.”

Selling the City, which premiered on Friday, January 3, introduced Us to the latest reality show from Selling Sunset creator Adam DiVello. The series follows Eleonora Srugo’s real estate group at Douglas Elliman, which consists of Taylor, Jade Chan, Abigail Godfrey, Jordyn Taylor Braff, Gisselle Meneses Nunez and Justin Tuinstra. Former Million Dollar Listing New York‘s Steve Gold, who currently works for The Corcoran Group, also makes various appearances throughout the season.

When she was not focused on selling high-end real estate, Taylor found herself struggling in her marriage to Peter.

'Selling Sunset' Cast's Love Lives: Who the Netflix Stars Are Dating Off Screen

“Everything is coming at once, which is good. It’s a blessing and I’m very grateful for it. But trying to manage it all is a lot. And then not being able to have great one-on-one time with your partner, it can take a toll,” Taylor told Eleonora on the show. “There’s a lot of stress in real estate and I’m on my phone a lot. I know that really bothers him and I get it because I would feel the exact same way.”

Taylor noted that her commitment to her work caused her husband “to take the back seat,” saying, “You can have it all but not all at one time … We have been together for a decade now but throughout those 10 years so much has changed. Relationships are really f—king hard. And I’m sober and in recovery and that wasn’t a part of my life when we got together and now it is.”

Eleonora then asked Taylor how many years of her decade-long marriage were “really” good. “I don’t know how to quantify it,” Taylor replied. “Four were really good and six have been really hard.”

Later in the season, Selling the City offered Us a front row seat to Taylor and Peter’s awkward date that ended with both of them on their phones instead of paying attention to each other. In another scene, Taylor attempted to bring up a conversation about exploring IVF again.

“It is expensive and time-consuming. I am also the breadwinner in the family,” she told the cameras. “The last time that we went through this process, it didn’t work out.”

Failed Reality TV Romances Over the Years

While Taylor seemed committed to having children with Peter, he argued that she would lose her “professional momentum” if she decided to become a mom. He told Taylor on screen that he couldn’t process how she would be able to balance her career and demands that come with parenthood. (Elsewhere in the show, Eleonora confronted Taylor after finding out she went above her head for a loan due to money issues.)

“It’s a very weighted thing to try to process when I know [having children] doesn’t fix the marriage at all. I am not naive to that,” Taylor said in a confessional. “I have heard that kids with marriage, it brings out the best in your marriage and the absolute worst. I am processing all of it.”

An offscreen producer subsequently asked Taylor if she saw “a world where” she would “stay together” with Peter, to which she replied, “I don’t know.”

Selling the City is streaming on Netflix.

With reporting by Christina Garibaldi