Drew Alexander, president and CEO of Weingarten Realty Investors (NYSE: WRI), participated in a video interview at Nareit’s REITworld: 2019 Annual Conference in Los Angeles.
Alexander said that Weingarten Realty has a very active leasing department and is constantly in touch with its tenants nationwide, which helps the REIT stay on top of new and emerging retail concepts. He added that Weingarten has sold more than $3 billion of property over the last several years through its portfolio repositioning to reduce exposure to weaker retail tenants.
Turning to acquisitions, Alexander said that although Weingarten is a national company, it is only focused on growing in 15 markets, including Houston, Phoenix, San Jose, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Seattle.
“We really love our whole portfolio,” he added. “We love our coastal footprint in major cities and are very comfortable that we’re in a great position to grow as this country grows.”