It’s a trying time to be in the real estate business, but there are oases amid all the foreclosed homes and empty offices.

And they can be found at places like Granada Hills, where Mac Chandler of Regency Centers Corp. is revitalizing an old shopping center called Granada Village with new facades and tenants. Or downtown, where Kevin Dow of Turner Construction Co. is building a space for the neighborhood’s first Target at the 7th and Fig outdoor mall.

Consumers may not be buying houses, but they are back in stores. It’s enough to make retail development one of the few corners of the industry where there is any life.

In this year’s annual Who’s Who in Real Estate Special Report, the Business Journal profiles a dozen retail specialists, including developers, architects and brokers, who are behind some of the top projects in the Los Angeles area.