Joseph Coradino, CEO of Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (NYSE: PEI), joined REIT.com for a CEO Spotlight video interview at REITWeek 2016: NAREIT’s Investor Forum at the Waldorf Astoria New York.
PREIT owns and operates approximately 26 million square feet of retail space in the eastern half of the United States, with a concentration in the Mid-Atlantic region’s top metropolitan statistical areas.
PREIT was awarded Gold in the small cap Equity REIT category at NAREIT’s 2016 Investor CARE Awards, which honor excellence in communications and reporting to shareholders.
Coradino said enhanced investor communication has been a “huge focus” for the company, involving hundreds of investor meetings held coast to coast.
Turning to the company’s transformation efforts, Coradino pointed out that close to $700 million in assets have been sold to date. The bulk of the disposals were lower quality enclosed regional malls, he said.
While PREIT still has an asset or two to sell, Coradino noted, the company has a “tremendous amount” of remerchandising and redevelopment work underway. PREIT anticipates annual spending of $150 million to $200 million to upgrade and redevelop the asset base, he said.
Meanwhile, Coradino added that PREIT has been able to attract a new group of tenants, including value-orientated retailers, traditional anchors, as well as entertainment tenants.