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Thousands of years after open-air markets flourished in ancient Greece, shopping centers are continuing to evolve.

鈥淭here will be new formats,鈥� said Fred Bruning, history buff and CEO of . 鈥淭here will be new sizes and shapes, but at the end of the day, we’re not more than two steps away from the souk of Byzantium.鈥�

Slowly, but surely, retail is rebounding. Absorption is reportedly up in the Portland area, which is attracting numerous large chains. But as the business changes, Bruning said, properties need to as well.

At Bridgeport Village in Tigard, Bruning peered inside the glass storefront of a space that soon will hold a Barnes and Noble store.

鈥淯pstairs will be the most amazing children’s section you’ve ever seen,鈥� he said, 鈥渨ith a lot of electronic, interactive things so the kids can actually have screens that they can touch and play and follow the stories, and be read to, or read for themselves.鈥�

The space formerly held Borders’ No. 2 store for volume before the company filed for bankruptcy last year. Barnes & Noble is relying on technology, fueled by a new $300 million partnership with Microsoft to develop its Nook reader technology, to succeed in the space.

Customers still want to wander through aisles of books and thumb through titles, Bruning said, but they prefer to make purchases via downloads. So, retailers don’t need to devote so many square feet to inventory.

Bruning noted that when he was with Sears in the early 1980s, more than 55 percent of the company’s sales came from its catalog. The Internet, he said, is just a shiny new catalog that doesn’t need to be mailed.

鈥�(Retailers are) looking to get smaller,鈥� said Alex MacLean, a retail broker with . 鈥淲ithout a doubt, almost across the board retail is getting smaller.鈥�

MacLean said retailers are becoming increasingly more efficient space users. For instance, stores that formerly relied on stock rooms now stack items up to the ceiling above displays.

But it also has to do with the amount of available real estate, MacLean said. In Portland, where the urban growth boundary confines development, little land is available for new buildings. So, retailers must modify their models to suit existing buildings.

MacLean said that Wal-Mart, for example is repurposing spaces formerly used by various businesses in West Linn, Beaverton, Gresham, Lake Oswego and Southeast Portland (on McLoughlin Boulevard).

鈥淭hat’s the perfect reuse of existing space,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is curbside recycling at its best.鈥�

MacLean added that 2012 would be the first year in roughly 15 that a new shopping center hasn’t opened in the Portland-metro area.

Mark New of said the recession left Portland with nearly 2 million square feet of vacant big-box space. But most of that has since been absorbed. According to Norris, Beggs & Simpson’s third-quarter report, retail vacancy was down slightly while absorption was up.

Kidder Mathews’ third-quarter report, meanwhile, said vacancy was up a bit and net absorption was down; however, it predicted an upward swing in the coming months.

Nationally, retail sales increased 1.1 percent in September to approximately $413 billion 鈥� 5.4 percent higher than a year ago. New said his personal survey of Portland-area businesses indicated that sales are up.

New and MacLean follow institutions like Intel, Nike and Oregon Health and Science University to gauge retail growth because expansions mean new consumers. Intel’s recent announcement that it will build more space in Hillsboro is likely to have a big impact.

鈥淭hat’s a great opportunity,鈥� New said. 鈥淭hat’s a story that gets to the top of the pile and gets people to Portland.鈥�

One such company apparently on its way is Richmond, Va.-based , a used-car retailer with no existing locations in Oregon. It paid $13.08 million for a Milwaukie property, at 13750 S.E. Johnson Road, that presently holds a Kmart store.

Bruning said he likes to think of retail as a giant subduction zone in which rising businesses slide above others. CenterCal Properties is banking on business continuing to increase, with 2 million square feet of space in the works.

A couple of months ago, CenterCal entered into a 75-year lease for a property off of Interstate 5 in Tualatin that presently holds a Kmart. That store is closing, and CenterCal is planning a $55 million development 鈥� Nyberg Rivers 鈥� with 300,000 square feet of retail space. Bruning said construction will begin in spring 2013 and finish a year later.

Like Gramor’s Progress Ridge TownSquare development 鈥� which opened last year and includes a small lake 鈥� Nyberg Rivers will play up the pedestrian experience by weaving paved and gravel trails around the Tualatin River. New said those types of amenities are playing an increasingly important role in retail developments’ success.

In a way, it’s a return to the days of yore.

鈥淚t’s offering a community town center,鈥� New said. 鈥淎nd that’s how retail started in the first place.鈥�