Category: Real Estate
New York City Vaccine Mandate for Certain Indoor Activities
In early August 2021, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the Key to NYC , which requires patrons of indoor dining, indoor fitness and indoor entertainment to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Employees at such establishments must also be vaccinated. There is no exception to this vaccination mandate...
ICSC Law Conference 2020 – 50th Anniversary Edition
This year, the ICSC Law Conference on October 14-16 celebrated its 50 th Anniversary. The planned pomp and circumstance were eliminated due to COVID-19, but the conference was still held using a virtual platform. While less than typical in-person attendance, there was still an impressive number of attendees, reaching...
Bankrupt Retailers Seek Extraordinary Relief in Time of COVID
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced big-name brands to pursue unique strategies to secure fiscal relief. Even prior to the pandemic’s outbreak, certain retailers experienced financial difficulties and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The pandemic only exacerbated retailers’ difficulties by effectively shuttering stores nationwide, thus halting certain retailers’ “going out...
Straightening Their Tenants' Ties: Retail Property Owners Are Buying Distressed Retailers Out of Bankruptcy
Since the early days of the COVID-19 crisis in the U.S., it has been a recurring theme to turn on the news and see that yet another big-name retailer is rumored to be on the brink of filing, or has already filed, for bankruptcy. Many well-known brands many of...
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...
Coronavirus: Impact on the Retail Industry
Coronavirus Disease 2019 or “ COVID-19 ” continues to dominate national and international discussion. News outlets in Boston , New York , London , Mumbai , Rio de Janeiro , Tokyo , and every other city and town in the world continue to post and print stories related to spread of...
The 2019 ICSC New York Deal Making Conference and The Ever-Evolving Retail Scene
The ICSC New York Deal Making Conference (“NYDM”) was held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center from December 10-12 and had more than 9,600 registered attendees. This year, ICSC offered much more content than at prior NYDM conferences. Over the course of 3 days, there were a total of...
Airbnb Slashes Boston Inventory to Meet New Requirements
The number of Airbnb listings in Boston has been cut in half due to local ordinances regulating the operation of short-term rentals. Boston is not the only city pushing back on Airbnb, a company that is battling local city governments across the country while simultaneously addressing concerns about safety...
2019 ICSC Law Conference Recap
Last week, over 1,500 members of the retail law industry came together at this year’s 49 th International Council of Shopping Center (ICSC) U.S. Law Conference that was held in San Diego from October 23 through October 25, 2019. Those in attendance ranged from counsel from outside law firms...
Retail-to-Industrial Conversions: Revolution or Niche Trend?
It may have been unthinkable ten to fifteen years ago, but the shift in consumer shopping patterns from brick-and-mortar stores to online platforms has resulted in the emergence of retail-to-industrial conversions over the past few years. With lower demand for retail space in many markets, several developers and major...
“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...
What’s Old is New Again: Department Stores Partner with Online-Only Secondhand Apparel Companies
Apparel merchandisers are predicting that resale will soon become a force in the industry and retailers are beginning to take notice. Increasingly, young shoppers are turning to online, resale and rental for their clothing needs and department stores are currently experimenting with offering secondhand apparel as a way to...
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...
E-Commerce and Industrial Real Estate: “Last Mile” Delivery and What Else You Should Know
In recent years, the extensive disruption to the retail real estate landscape caused by the expansive growth of e-commerce (such as altered consumer shopping habits, increased brick-and-mortar vacancies, and big box retailer bankruptcies) has been well-cataloged and analyzed both within the commercial real estate industry and, more broadly, by...
On Retaildential Densification: Unpacking the Jargon and Trends of Adding Residential Uses to Shopping Centers
Retail follows rooftops. Few real estate adages are more axiomatic. Increasingly, however, the reverse is becoming true, and rooftops, or residential uses, are cozying up to retail . We’ve written previously that residential developers are increasingly finding shopping centers to be an irresistible tenant amenity . Whether residential uses...
The Times They Are A-Changin’: Movement in the Retail Brokerage Industry
When selecting a broker, clients consider a host of factors, including both the firm’s and individual broker’s experience, building and client portfolio, and industry contacts. While some may feel better served by a small, dedicated team that can arguably offer more personalized service, many elect to engage larger industry players. Larger...
International Council of Shopping Centers New England Conference and Deal Making
ICSC hosted the New England Conference and Deal Making event at the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center last week, from July 16-18. Given the summer timing of the conference, attendance appeared light at times, but conference attendees reported busy schedules and productive meetings. A number of attendees mentioned...
ICSC RECon 2018--Stepping Into the Future
The Las Vegas Convention Center hosted ICSC RECon 2018 last week from May 20-23. Upon their entry into the Convention Center’s Central Hall, this year’s RECon attendees were greeted by the ICSC Innovation Exchange. This interactive exhibit showcased a broad range of new technologies, including autonomous security systems, digital storefronts and...
ICSC RECon In Full Swing
ICSC is in full swing at the Las Vegas Convention Center this week. This is the world's largest gathering of retail real estate professionals. With 37,000 industry professionals and 1200 exhibitors, it promises to be an amazing week. Last year, the mood at the convention was largely positive despite the...
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...
Bringing Residential Uses to Existing Shopping Centers--A Win Win
Tenant curation, experiential retail , and social media-based marketing are thriving trends in today’s brick-and-mortar shopping center industry. Retail is not the only real estate asset class susceptible to trends, and a recent dominant trend in the multifamily residential sector may offer valuable opportunities for shopping center owners. For those...
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...
Foreign Retailers Entering New Markets: Finding A Home Of One’s Own
The first task facing a retailer entering a new market? To find its customer. This chore takes on more significance for foreign retailers venturing into a complex, expansive and heterogeneous market such as the United States. Depending upon the soundness of the choice, the proverbial pot at the end of...
Medtail: Why Your Doctor Is Treating You in a Strip Mall
The retail universe is well aware of the hype that it is only a matter of time until brick and mortal retail succumbs to its online competitors . However, despite the “doom and gloom” we generally see in headlines, retail has actually remained stable and, in fact, is thriving...
ICSC RECon 2017 – ICSC RECon Continues to Draw the Crowds
ICSC RECon 2017 was held last week from May 21-24 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This year, the conference lived up to its billing as the “World’s Largest Retail Real Estate Convention” with an estimated crowd of 37,000. This represents about a 2.7% increase over last year and...
The Future of Urban Retail: A Business Real Estate Roundtable
As the competitive retail marketplace continues to shape itself, we take an active role monitoring trends and uncovering the legal ramifications. This week, we are pleased to share Crain's New York Business Real Estate Roundtable. In this piece, the discussion centers on The Future of Urban Retail. Our partner...
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...
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