Category: Landlords
Last Minute Shifts to Last-Mile Delivery Centers: Considerations for Retail Landlords
Owners of shopping centers and other retail spaces are again increasingly looking to novel uses, including distribution and warehouse uses , sometimes called “fulfillment centers”, to fill growing vacancies. These emerging uses raise a number of potential legal issues. The retail industry is undergoing what appears to be a...
Court Partially Excuses Tenant’s Rent Obligations During COVID Shutdown
In the social and economic fallout from COVID, businesses are assessing how best to address their commercial relationships, especially where potentially insurmountable barriers to performance loom large. One clause that concerns performance impossibility has gained increasing recognition in this crisis. “Force majeure” contract clauses long have existed in contracts. Largely...
“Retail Apocalypse: The End – Or A New Beginning?”
The last several years have been treacherous for the retail sector. Changing shopping patterns and shifting demographics have led some commentators to declare that the (retail) apocalypse is upon us . And while we have seen numerous mega-bankruptcies, including Sears, Toys ‘R Us, Borders, Payless Shoes and Radio Shack...
REIT Issues for Retail Leasing Professionals
As retail leasing continues to evolve, real estate investment trust (REIT) landlords, retail tenants and the business / advisory teams on both sides will want to ensure that REIT issues are surfaced and negotiated before the lease is signed, averting unpleasant surprises and renegotiations down the road. With proper...
ICSC RECON 2019: In Pursuit of Innovation
The Las Vegas Convention Center hosted ICSC RECon 2019 this week from May 19-22. This year’s conference was held under the motto “Less traditional. More Innovative”, reflective of the dynamic changes taking place in the retail real estate industry. True to this motto, the future of retail was on...
When the Retail Anchor Becomes the Risk… or Opportunity?
Big box stores have recently been large contributors to the “retail apocalypse” facing owners of shopping centers with broad swaths of empty space. Some landlords are discovering that they need to take a more active role at the helm of their centers and find new ways to attract customers...
Four Ways for Leases to Keep Up with Innovative Retail
Industry experts seem to agree that while traditional retailers may be on the decline, innovative stores that focus on “experiential retail” -- interesting, memorable, interactive, multi-sensory shopping experiences -- will continue to thrive. To keep up with developments in the retail sector, landlords and tenants should consider modifying their...
Down But Not Out: Using Showrooms to Revamp Brick and Mortar Retail
Recent trends such as pop-ups suggest that consumers and retailers alike are not prepared to give up on brick and mortar stores, but that they are looking for more creative alternatives to the traditional arrangement. Clothing retailers have begun exploring use of showroom-style spaces to revitalize and reframe the shopping...
Following An Evolving Retail Scene In New York City
New York City, one of the world’s premier shopping destinations is about to get over one and a half million square feet of new retail space. Some will be delivered to Long Island City, an area that has been waiting for a retail resurgence for over 2 decades, and...
Bankruptcy Lease Auctions – Landlords Can Play Too
Toys “R” Us filed for bankruptcy in September 2017, with hopes that a strong holiday season would facilitate a successful reorganization. After holiday sales proved to be far less lucrative than the company and its professionals had hoped, the announcement was recently made that the company would commence store...
Settlement Opens Door For Outer Borough Outlet Centers
In August 2017, Simon Property Group (“SPG”) and the Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York (“NYAG”) entered into an Assurance of Discontinuance (the “Settlement”) regarding alleged anti-competitive effects of radius restrictions used by SPG in leases at the Woodbury Common Premium Outlets (“Woodbury Commons&rdquo...
Vitamin D and Retail: But Not Without Due Diligence First
We’ve all read about the question marks floating around the fate of brick and mortar retail in America. Factors like the strength of e-commerce and shifting consumer preferences (such as the popularity of urban centers over suburbia and consumers’ yearn for experiences over traditional shopping trips) are challenging landlords...
End Of An Era Or Simply a Moment In Time?
What conclusions can we draw from the increasing vacancy rates in prime NYC retail real estate ? A momentary blip? Something we’ve seen many times before, only to be followed by the inevitable climb in rents to their customary stratospheric levels? Analysts claim that rents in the retail sweet...
ICSC Mid-Atlantic Conference & Deal Making Recap
With seemingly all of the country’s attention focused on Washington DC lately, we snuck out of the District and across the Potomac River to National Harbor last week for ICSC's 2017 Mid-Atlantic Conference and Deal Making. The conference was very well attended, and the mood among attendees and presenters...
Oh the Sidewalks Outside Are Frightful, But Landlords Will Make Them Delightful… or Will They?
Although we haven’t seen much snow accumulation in the northeast to date, we know that this can (and likely will) change before the warmer weather returns. Before the snow really begins to fall, it would behoove both landlords and tenants to become informed about their snow clearing responsibilities and...
Upscale Food Halls—On Trend and On The Rise
The growth of high-end food halls is taking off around the country as consumers seek fast, fresh, high-quality, chef-driven meals with a local touch, and as landlords seek to cash in on the continued growth of fast-casual dining. These boutique-style, upscale food halls are modeled more after famous European...
The Power of Pop-ups: From Fad to Retail Mainstay
Pop-up stores or “flash retail” have graduated from passing trend to popular practice. Historically utilized for the sale of seasonal products (think temporary stores that only sell Halloween costumes), the pop-up has evolved into an attractive option for retailers of all shapes, sizes and experience. Smaller, emerging companies have...
Are Prohibited Uses Prohibiting Opportunity?
Despite how it may sometimes seem when in the throes of negotiating a lease between a shopping center landlord and a retail tenant, the overarching goals of the two parties are aligned. Both parties want the tenant to be successful and want the landlord’s shopping center to be active...
Off-Price Retail Therapy for Landlords: New Opportunity in the Age of Millennials
On March 2nd, after much media speculation, Sports Authority commenced a case under chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. In its initial bankruptcy filings, the company’s CFO announced that it will close up to 200 of its 464 stores over the course of the bankruptcy case. Sports...
New Lease Accounting Rules Are Final: Retailers and, Ultimately, Landlords Can Expect Changes
We recently wrote about expected changes to the rules governing the way leases are accounted for on balance sheets and suggested the changes would have major implications for retailer tenants and longer term implications for landlords. Late last week, as expected, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued a suite...
Change in Lease Accounting Rules to Have Major Impact for Retailers, and Ultimately, Landlords Too
Rules governing the way leases are accounted for on balance sheet rules are expected to change in the first quarter of 2016 with major implications for retailer tenants and longer term implications for landlords. Today, real estate leases are generally not accounted for on most tenants’ balance sheets. That is...
Pop-Up Halloween Stores Don’t Scare Landlords
Halloween specialty stores have been popping up annually since the 1980’s and quickly became a national phenomena. According to the National Retail Federation, the celebration of Halloween is projected to generate approximately $7.4 billion dollars this year . Pop-up Halloween stores can be big business for both retailers and...
A Case of Caution: the Effect of Redevelopment on Existing Mall Leases
In a follow-up to coverage regarding the White Flint Mall redevelopment, the jury has reached a verdict. Until recently, White Flint Mall in Bethesda, Maryland was a prime example of retail mall success. However, as the mall began to lose tenants and customers, its owner decided to redevelop the...
Blowdryers and Flatirons: The Real Estate Market Heats Up with Salon Suites
For years the price of entry for solo entrepreneurs in the health and beauty category was high. With similar fixed startup costs as any professional practice would have, such as real estate, insurance, supplies, but with much slimmer profit margins, stylists and aestheticians were often relegated to renting chairs...
It’s Snowing (Again!) – What Responsibility Does a Landlord Have for Snow and Ice Removal?
After four major snowstorms have buried much of Massachusetts in more than six feet of snow, and with other areas of the country dealing with storms of their own, landlords nationwide are wondering how responsible they are for clearing and managing snow and ice that has accumulated in their...
When Fashion Met Style…Spin-Off Stores
Over the past few years, there has been a discouraging rash of mall vacancies and closings, as traditional department stores and retail chains have had to close shop, lick their wounds, and get back to the drawing board in hopes of reviving their brand names and regaining a foothold...