Donald Wood, president and CEO of Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT), joined REIT.com for a CEO Spotlight video interview during REITWeek 2015: NAREIT’s Investor Forum, held in New York.
Federal Realty acquired the CocoWalk Shopping Center in Miami’s Coconut Grove this year. Wood said the outlook for the retail market in Miami in the next decade is “really strong.” He noted that Miami has a limited number of areas that serve local residents, including Coconut Grove. Federal Realty has a superior capital structure to the property’s previous owner, according to Wood, which should open up its potential.
Federal Realty generally owns retail facilities on the coasts of the United States. Northern California is “by far” the strongest market in the country, let alone of the markets in which Federal Realty operates, Wood noted. “When I look at the next five years, it looks particularly strong,” he said.
Wood singled out Boston among the top markets on the East Coast.
In terms of the duration of the market cycles in those geographic markets, Wood said their lengths tend to vary.
“This cycle in Silicon Valley today is pretty transformational when it comes to technology, and I expect it to run a long time” he said.
Wood previewed the next phase of Federal Realty’s Assembly Row property in Boston. He said the firm is “absolutely sure” that demand still exists for space in Assembly Row. The site still needs entertainment and dining tenants to connect to an office development attached to it, according to Wood. He said construction on the new phase of the project is expected to begin “very shortly.”
“It’s off to a great start,” Wood said. “More of a good thing.”