On April 1, 2020, Ohio Governor Michael DeWine signed Executive Order 2020-08D, which requested commercial landlords to suspend rent and evictions for 90 days and requested commercial lenders to forebear mortgage payments for 90 days. My first impression of the order was that it had no teeth. For various reasons that were understandable, the Governor
COVID-19 and the Retail Industry’s Forced Evolution
It is no doubt that retailing as an industry, and we as a nation, and indeed as one interconnected world, are facing a generational issue of great seriousness and magnitude. COVID-19 is changing our habits as individuals and as consumers, and while there are undeniable and significant problems that have been caused by this new
Relationships Matter
Relationships matter.
Seems obvious, but not always understood. However, this past week Scott Kadish, Alex Conn and I experienced firsthand the importance of this simple principle.
Last week we attended the ICSC U.S. Shopping Center Law Conference in San Antonio, Texas. For 4 days we attended educational sessions (we actually led the discussion in 2 of those), visited with clients and colleagues, renewed friendships and made new ones. There were about 1,350 attendees at this conference, the programming was terrific, and opportunities were abundant.
Clients and lawyers with whom we may only have an electronic connection for most of the year were suddenly and delightfully in the same physical place as us for 4 or 5 days. It was during this face-to-face time that I realized how important it is to actually know our clients and the folks who sit across the table from me the rest of the year.
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Street Food Gone Upscale
“Street Food” has generally referred to prepared food items ready for immediate consumption sold on the street or in a public space from a food cart, food truck or similar moveable station. The connotation was cheaper fast food.
Today, “street food” is a unique, trendy selling point. There is Piada Italian Street Food that brands
‘Lease’ Vegas
I just returned from the National Restaurant Association Financial Officers and Tax Executives Conference in Las Vegas. I participated on a Real Estate Leasing Trends panel with Adam Schwegman, head of the eat/drink department of General Growth Properties and George Galloway of Next Realty Mid-Atlantic, with Ryan Cupersmith of Ernst & Young as our moderator. While there, I was able to soak in some knowledge myself. Here are some of the highlights of what I learned:
- Restaurants may be the new anchor in retail developments. A center has to provide an “experience” to motivate consumers to shop at the center as opposed to sitting home and buying over the internet. Restaurants have become a great way to create an experience and draw customers in.
- Restaurants are immune to internet competition. Last time I checked, you can’t buy a prepared meal over the internet that comes with a server and clean-up crew, so restaurants appear to be safe from internet competition, at least for now.
Cincinnati Commercial Real Estate Summit
I just attended the Midwest Real Estate News Magazine Cincinnati Commercial Real Estate Summit. I heard a very interesting discussion about the Cincinnati real estate market, addressing retail, office, industrial, healthcare and investment properties.
Norm Khoury of Colliers International was the moderator.
John Thompson of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank discussed retail issues. John commented that
Cincinnati – the Center of Retail Development in America?
I just attended a CREW presentation which was entitled “New Retail Trends and Addressing Consumer Demands.” However, the presentation was actually about three high profile retail projects all located in Cincinnati, Ohio, and, it included three high profile developers, at least one of whom (depending upon who you asked) is also extremely talented.
Mark Fallon
Bringing the Downtown Shopping Experience to the Exurbs
I recently attended our client’s, Steiner + Associates, grand-opening ceremony for Liberty Center, a $350 million mixed-use development featuring, shopping, dining, luxury residential apartments, offices, a state-of-the-art movie theater and a new to market AC Hotel by Marriott located in the middle of the growing Cincinnati-Dayton
Great Ideas
I just attended the ICSC Idea Exchange in Columbus, Ohio where several great ideas were exchanged.
Robert Myers, Chief Operating Officer of Philips Edison & Company, said it was a seller’s market with cap rates of 4 to 5.
I learned that fast casual pizza (think Chipotle does pizza) is the fastest growing segment of
Weakest Link in the Chain
Leasing space to a restaurant chain is very desirable for a shopping center landlord. Name recognition attracts people to the center and a chain typically has better financial resources. So, the landlord starts out saying “I want a Cheesecake Factory, Cooper’s Hawk, Tom & Chee…fill in the blank, at my center.” Then during lease negotiations,