Council Members Attend ICSC Conference to Recruit Retailers, Bring Economic Development to Prince George’s County

The commercial real estate world converges on Las Vegas for ICSC—one of the industry’s most influential marketplaces and conferences. Formerly known as the International Council of Shopping Centers, ICSC is now simply ICSC, a global trade association dedicated to marketplaces and spaces where people shop, dine, work, and gather. Its flagship event, ICSC Las Vegas, functions as a massive dealmaking floor and an ideas exchange, drawing tens of thousands of professionals who shape the future of retail and mixed-use development. Each year, more than 25,000 attendees—elected officials, retailers, developers, brokers, lenders, and economic development leaders—arrive ready to pitch projects, scout sites, negotiate leases, and spot the trends that will define local main streets and regional town centers alike.

This year, Prince George’s County was firmly in the mix. Council Chair Krystal Oriadha (District 7) and Council Members Shayla Adams-Stafford (District 5) and Edward Burroughs III (District 8) are in Las Vegas to compete for attention—and investment—in a crowded national marketplace. They were joined by County Executive Aisha Braveboy, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Economic Development Tracy Benjamin, Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Ingrid S. Watson, and a broader team of county and state partners. The mission is clear: recruit high-quality retailers, accelerate mixed-use projects, and sharpen a countywide strategy that responds to residents’ priorities.

ICSC’s value lies in velocity. In a single hall, decision-makers who typically require months of emails and gatekeepers are within a few booths’ distance. That proximity enables what Chair Oriadha calls “targeted advocacy”—focused conversations with the right owners, brands, and capital partners at precisely the right moment in a project’s life cycle. The approach has a track record: past participation helped attract headline-making investments like Sphere at National Harbor and Sprouts Farmers Market in Westphalia. Those wins matter not only as trophies but as anchors that catalyze surrounding development, expand the tax base, and create jobs.

Prince George’s leaders have a prioritized shopping list this year. At the top are the Blue Line Corridor, Kevin Durant’s planned mixed-use development at the former Six Flags site in Bowie, and the Westphalia Town Center. Each represents a different lever of economic growth: transit-oriented districts that can deliver walkable retail and housing; a catalytic, brand-forward destination project with national visibility; and a large-scale town center that can balance everyday amenities with experiential retail. The delegation’s calendar in Las Vegas is heavy on meetings with national and regional brokers, property owners, and retailers—conversations that translate community input into a concrete pipeline of tenants and project timelines.

The outreach is two-directional. On one hand, council members are advocating for specific retail categories—grocery, neighborhood services, restaurants, fitness, and specialty concepts—that residents want to see in local shopping centers and mixed-use districts. On the other hand, they’re pressing for commitments that align with county goals: quality jobs for Prince Georgians, inclusive procurement, and investments that build wealth locally. Discussions with Sphere ownership have also spotlighted workforce development pathways tied to the new Sphere at National Harbor, reinforcing the county’s focus on connecting residents to opportunity in emerging entertainment and hospitality sectors.

ICSC is not only about deal tables; it’s also a classroom. With big-box retail in retreat and traditional malls restructuring, the conference’s education sessions help local governments stay ahead of change. Topics like asset mapping, place-based capital stacks, and activating underused sites are particularly salient. Council Member Burroughs underscores the policy implications: if the market is favoring open-air, community-centered marketplaces, public policy must evolve alongside it—everything from zoning for flexible ground floors and small-format anchors to streamlining approvals for adaptive reuse and pop-up retail. That legislative groundwork can be the quiet difference between a promising concept and a ribbon-cutting.

For county leaders, success at ICSC is measured in both near-term and long-term outcomes. Near-term, it’s tangible commitments: letters of intent from retailers, scheduled follow-up site visits, and clearer deal terms for priority projects. Long-term, it’s strengthening the county’s brand among national players—demonstrating that Prince George’s can move quickly, provide certainty, and partner creatively to get projects financed and open. It’s also about aligning the public and private sectors around a shared roadmap, so that infrastructure investment, workforce training, and tenant recruitment reinforce each other.

Council Member Adams-Stafford’s optimism after the meetings reflects that momentum. When property owners and retailers hear a consistent message—from elected officials to the Economic Development Corporation—about the types of businesses that fit and the communities they will serve, confidence grows. And confidence shortens timelines.

Ultimately, ICSC is a signal of intent. Prince George’s County isn’t waiting for retail to arrive; it’s out competing for it. By marrying targeted recruitment with updated policy tools and community-driven priorities, the county aims to translate the energy of Las Vegas dealmaking into neighborhood storefronts, vibrant corridors, and local paychecks. The road from a convention floor to a grand opening can be long, but it starts with a handshake, a shared vision—and the kind of focus the county’s delegation brought to ICSC this year.