Andrew Silberfein, president and CEO of Rouse Properties (NYSE: RSE), joined REIT.com for a CEO Spotlight video interview at REITWorld 2015: NAREIT’s Annual Convention for All Things REIT at the Wynn Las Vegas.
Rouse has undertaken an effort to reposition its portfolio of retail properties. Since 2012, the company has completed major renovations and capital projects on 10 of its 30 properties. Rouse is targeting $350 million in renovation projects across its portfolio. Rouse is projecting that the projects will generate upwards of $750 million in value creation, according to Silberfein.
“They’ve been very well received by the retailers and very well received by the communities,” Silberfein said. “That has encouraged us to look for additional projects to do.”
Regarding trends in the retail sector, Silberfein said more tenants are “blurring the lines” in terms of location decisions. He explained that a growing number are choosing to rent space in multiple types of retail properties, such as malls, outlet centers and power centers. In response, Rouse is adding those components to its malls.
“We’ve been focusing on adding high-volume restaurants, entertainment tenants, everyday uses in large formats and junior anchors to our malls,” Silberfein said.
Silberfein pointed out that Rouse’s malls tend to serve as hubs in their local communities. Roughly 85 percent of the firm’s assets are the only closed malls in their markets, according to Silberfein.
“We really effectively function as the downtowns for many of our markets,” he said. “We’re part of the fabric of the community.”