Category: Tenant
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...
“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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...