"It's time to readjust your business plan for the next 12 months," said Melissa Moran, CBRE vice president of advisory and transaction services.
She was speaking on an ICSC webinar called The Shopping Center Business Plan: Adapting to Change. Especially amid COVID-19, a property’s business plan must offer investors a complete picture of the property’s performance and provide an achievable and realistic operational roadmap for the coming year, she said.
Moran offered these tips:
- Build a detailed timeline of the impacts COVID-19 has had on your property. While the events are still fresh, document the center’s performance pre-COVID and its performance during the various stages of social restrictions. “Discuss the rent implications, any adjustments to the loan, operational changes, financial adjustments, and describe the risks for 2021,” Moran said.
- Consider requiring tenants that are requesting rent relief to provide sales performance for the 12 months prior and for the rest of the lease term. Such data, which tenants otherwise might not provide, can help you evaluate the shopping center’s performance. “It would be interesting to see what the sales impact has been on the tenant throughout social distancing,” Moran said.
- Track market changes in real time. Develop a running list of retail, restaurant and office user openings, closing and new arrivals for investors — for example, that Outback Steakhouse has entered the market or that a large employer in the area laid off a chunk of its workforce. Access mobile phone data from brokers or data providers to see how traffic patterns are changing. “Put the data points on a map. You have the time now,” Moran said.
- Identify obstacles or opportunities. Create what-if scenarios that address COVID-19 impacts on operations and tenant performance. Recognize if and how this impact property goals.
The full webinar is available here. (Chrome works best).
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By Brannon Boswell
Executive Editor, Commerce + Communities Today
