Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/122387
in a career," he said. The notion that he might like to do something else was confirmed on his first job, in his first meeting with a developer, during which he realized that the client was having more fun than he was. He was drawn immediately to the development process — rooted as that is in construction, with added elements of finance and market analysis, and driven toward the objective of projects that make money. "I always think of real estate as people, property and money," said Weinschenk. "Those three things came together in a really interesting way." He earned an MBA from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a specialization in real estate and then moved to New York City to work in the owned real estate department of Chase Manhattan Bank. There he worked with pools of distressed assets. "It was a great opportunity for someone in his late 20s to begin to understand the real estate industry better," he said. Weinschenk married and then relocated with his wife back to the Washington, D.C., area, where he went to work buying real estate for Applebee's operator Apple South. In this way he got reacquainted with The Peterson Cos., one of the largest developers in the Washington area, for whom he had done some architectural work seven years earlier. During his 16 years at Peterson, Weinschenk oversaw development of some of the firm's most significant projects in the metro area, including East Market at Fair Lakes, Fairfax Corner, Frederick Crossing and Virginia Gateway, totaling roughly 2 million square feet. Weinschenk began feeling the need to move on to new things, and WRIT came calling. "The opportunity to come in and be part of an existing organization that was eager to reshape how it was doing things and thinking about retail was com- pelling," he said. Not that retail and WRIT were so clearly linked, because the firm is best known for Washington-area office buildings, but Weinschenk's arrival is emblematic of "I was curious about LEED and how it works, and then how over time it could play into the development and operation of shopping centers." WRIT's expanded vision. "Paul has a keen understanding of the Washington metro retail landscape, from both an investment and operational standpoint," said George F. McKenzie, WRIT's president and CEO. Weinschenk's approach to the firm's retail portfolio is three-pronged; many of the properties are redevelopment opportunities, particularly into mixed-use communities, while others could be sold off. At the same time, he says he will be looking to invest in new developments — ground-up standalone retail, or retail space that is part of a mixed-use project. Weinschenk sees his appointment as indicative of where the market stands in the current real estate cycle. "It says the retail market — and generally the real estate market in Washington — is competitive and has gotten more consolidated over the last 10 to 15 years," he said. "WRIT is homegrown and felt the market had changed enough that it needed to be stronger on the retail side, and they wanted someone who could help them accomplish that." Weinschenk says he believes in the power of sustainability with regard to future projects, and he places a high value on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design AP (Accredited Professional) designation. "I was curious about LEED and how it works, and then how over time it could play into the development and operation of shopping centers and retail projects," he said. He also believes that more retailers are interested in the value sustainability can add from an operations perspective, and he notes that more cities and local jurisdictions are demanding that some form of LEED certification be part of new developments. "Ten years from now we may be thinking about LEED in the same way we now think about life safety, where you just take it for granted," he said. "It's better to be at the front end of that curve as opposed to the back end." Weinschenk takes pains to invest time getting better known in Washington, D.C., real estate circles, and this has led to interesting encounters with some famous Washingtonians. "I have met people in so many different ways — at parties, on airplanes and at airports," he said. "Senator Bob Dole told me a great story about a ferret and chocolate-chip cookies at a Kansas airport," he quipped. Such shoulder-rubbing extends to work on Capitol Hill, where he participated in ICSC's Strategic Leadership Summit, in March, lobbying for issues important to the membership, including sales-tax fairness. He serves as ICSC's state director for Maryland, Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. "Through all of this work, legislators begin to understand that retail is about more than going shopping," he said. "It's about people — it is an industry and an investment in their communities." SCT M ay 2 013 / SCT 281