Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
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10 S C T / A U G U S T 2 0 1 6 T H E C O M M O N A R E A REITs Open-air centers strong in second quarter: Report U.S. open-air shop- ping centers reported strong occupancy rates and rent perfor- mance in the second quarter, according to research firm Reis. The national vacancy rate for neighborhood and community shop- ping centers eased to 9.9 percent, 10 basis points off from the first quarter. Asking rent for shopping centers grew by 0.4 percent in the quarter, while effective rents rose by 0.5 percent. U.S. mall vacancies increased slightly, to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent, the first quarterly increase since the fourth quar- ter of 2014, Reis says. High-end malls are performing par- ticularly well. Second- quarter asking rents slipped by 0.4 per- cent at malls, while effective rents rose by 0.5 percent. Developers con- tinue to show re- straint, with only some 1.4 million square feet of new shopping cen- ter space completed during the second quarter, the lowest in three years. WP Glimcher regroups WP Glimcher is proposing to change its name to Washington Prime Group Inc., and the firm has appointed Louis G. Con- forti interim CEO, following the resigna- tion of Michael P. Glimcher as vice chair- man, CEO and director. Washington Prime Group was originally a spinoff of Simon, created in 2014 when Simon shed some of its strip centers and malls to focus on prime properties that cater to a wealthier clientele. Washington Prime then acquired Glimcher Realty in Janu- ary 2015, and changed its name to the latter. Conforti, 51, became a Glim- cher director in May 2014, and he has been a principal and executive director of Colony Capital, Inc., since April of that year. In addition, he has served as managing direc- tor of Balyasny Asset Management LP since December 2013. Previously, Conforti was global head of real estate for UBS O'Connor, among several other posts he has held. "During the next few months, the focus is straightforward: maximize current cash flow of the company, which involves tradi- tional and innovative leasing as well as re- ducing G&A; [general and administrative expenses]," Conforti said in a prepared statement. "In addition, an evaluation as it relates to the company's portfolio composition is to be under- taken. The bottom line is that we'll be rolling up our sleeves and concen- trating on the basics of our business." Glimcher owns 118 centers totaling more than 67 million square feet. Other appointments an- nounced were those of Robert J. Laikin to nonexecutive chairman of the board; Robert P. Demchak to executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary; and John F. Levy and John F. Dil- lon to join the board. Niles C. Overly will resign from the board. S C T TOP REIT ACQUISITION Retail square feet purchased by public U.S. equity REITs during 2015 and year-to-date through June 3. Market (Acquirer) Other retail Regional mall Open-air Total New York City 1.6 million 1.8 million 8.6 million 12.2 million Washington, D.C. 483,000 1.8 million 673,000 3 million Phoenix 1.5 million 757,000 420,000 2.7 million Dayton, Ohio 2.6 million 2.6 million Miami 192,000 1.2 million 978,000 2.3 million Chicago 764,000 1.4 million 2.2 million San Diego 144,000 1.8 million 107,000 2 million Columbus, Ohio 1.8 million 1.8 million Seattle 113,000 1 million 734,000 1.8 million Houston 482,000 384,000 956,000 1.8 million Source: SNL Financial MICHAEL GLIMCHER