𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗱 𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿

On a recent collaboration call for a new business pitch, I got swept up in excitement about surfing and wave parks.

I was researching wave parks beforehand, but hearing my colleague talk about his experience reframed everything. He was fired up, and the enthusiasm he had for surfing 20 waves, the camaraderie in the water, the fact that he stayed to buy swag and eat, was contagious.

Fast forward to the first day of ICSC Vegas, where I was excited to catch a session from Wavegarden — the engineering company behind many of the world’s surf lagoons — titled “The Liquid Anchor.”

They opened with something every CRE professional understands: the anchor, the destination that drives foot traffic and encourages dwell time, is evolving. The best ones just don’t get people to connect, but  come back. Then their numbers told the story.

According to Wavegarden’s session data: a 97% visitor return rate at their Virginia Beach location. Land values increased 4–10x on adjacent parcels. A residential project in Brazil where lot values went from $100K to $1M. And an F&B story driven by what they call a “dynamic viewing experience” — watching surfers keeps people on property longer, and spending more.

The sustainability piece landed, too. A session uses less energy than running a single ski chairlift, and less water than maintaining two to three golf holes.

Turns out my colleague was on to something. The wave park isn’t an  amenity. It’s the anchor.

As an always curious person, I find this idea fascinating and worth further exploration.

Anyone else catch a wave at ICSC?