Kimco’s Ross Cooper Discusses the Future of U.S. Shopping Centers
December 5, 2019 | Liz Wolf | National Real Estate Investor
While not bullet-proof to the struggles of the overall retail sector, open-air and neighborhood shopping centers haven’t faced the same immense struggles that enclosed malls have. Experts agree they’re a different animal, with a tenant mix that’s typically more e-commerce-resilient. Of course, they’ve been hit by bankruptcies like those of Kmart and Toys ‘R’ Us, which left big vacancies to backfill.
Such store closings, however, pose an opportunity to land stronger-performing tenants, says Ross Cooper, president/chief investment officer of Kimco Realty Corp.
The New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based REIT has also returned to its roots by pruning weaker properties and concentrating on the top 20 U.S. metro markets. Since 2010, Kimco has disposed of 472 non-core assets and assets it deemed as having too high of a risk profile for approximately $5.4 billion (Kimco’s share totaled $3.9 billion). Cooper says the sales provided a source of capital to fund the REIT’s extensive development/redevelopment pipeline, including adding mixed-use elements to existing properties.
