In 1995, there were approximately 1,800 regional malls in the US. At that time, ICSC (the International Council of Shopping Centers) published articles and held sessions at conferences addressing the then-current predictions that 25% of those regional malls would close, and there was a need to find alternative uses for regional malls. A few years… Continue reading The “new” reality
This past week, we had a call with a long term client to review the results of a lease audit. Typically, it is the accounting people, perhaps some accounts receivable people and occasionally asset management. We review additional historical billings and expected increases to cash flow. But, this week was a little different, it was… Continue reading Squeeze another 353 sf out of that space!
Over the past 2 months, there have been a number of stories about tenants “distorting” sales including this one in Shopping Centers Today – https://www.icsc.org/news-and-views/icsc-exchange/tenants-should-include-more-internet-returns-in-reported-sales-simon-says It is almost presented as a “breaking news” type item, but this issue, including internet returns and its technological predecessor, catalog returns, has been an issue as long as tenants… Continue reading Distorted sales and sales audits
We were working on a property this week that had a newer 20,000 sf fitness center on a gross lease at an incredibly low rate per square foot. It wasn’t the rate per square foot that bothered me – it was at the back of the center not fronting on the main parking lot. It… Continue reading This should bother you
Exclusives, kickouts and cotenancies are typically the big three non-financial covenants that have to be confirmed on an acquisition because, along with the cash flow of the property, they have such an impact on value. More often than not, these provisions are fairly obvious in a lease, But, sometimes they are buried. This past week,… Continue reading The “backdoored” exclusive
(A little non-lease administration but still real estate related blog for this week) Having been in retail real estate since 1987, I have seen my shares of ups and downs. However, in the early through mid 2000s, transaction volumes were through the roof, and I had forgotten the rule about what goes up also goes… Continue reading The physical embodiment of the last real estate recession is now gone … and it is kind of sad.
I got in to the industry in 1987. At that time, there were still plenty of 10-30 year old leases still in effect. So many of those leases had requirements for tenants to participate in a merchants’ association (usually at some initial nominal rate with CPI increases). The tenants would control how those funds were… Continue reading Are your tenants still contributing to marketing?
Two or three weeks ago, we were working on a portfolio acquisition. There was an outparcel ground lease tenant that had the right to purchase its premises if the landlord ever sold the property. Our client asked the seller for the tenant’s release from its option to purchase the parcel. The seller replied that it… Continue reading “That’s standard” is not a good enough answer.
A few months back, we addressed what happens when you leave phantom square footage in the denominator. But, this week, we actually had a lease where the tenant requested (AND THE LANDLORD AGREED!) to add square footage to the denominator for purposes of allocating CAM and taxes. First off, this was not a local developer… Continue reading You really expect the landlord to absorb CAM and taxes on non-existent space?
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