Insatiable appetite for commercial real estate continues

The St. Louis-area CRE market is still hungry for more, according to Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW)-St. Louis’ “Industrial Outlook” panelists.

Christie Brinkman, director, design build, Castle Contracting, LLC, moderated the March session as panelists, Cara Weber, Wakeel Rahman and Christy Campbell discussed recent pandemic-related challenges and predictions going forward.

Cara Weber, vice president, business recruitment, Missouri Partnership, said the Partnership is a public/private entity funded by the State of Missouri’s Department of Economic Development and the Hawthorn Foundation to focus on attracting new businesses to the state by functioning as a sales tunnel that includes marketing, business development and project management.

“Our Raise the Bar program is identifying sites for development so the region can control its own destiny,” Weber said. 

In the past five years, the Partnership has opened 615 projects and lost 142. Wins by industry include advanced manufacturing, energy solutions, food solutions, logistics and distribution, and office-based space.

“Expansion is incredibly important — about 80 percent of new jobs are coming from expansion,” she said. “I’m excited about the level of project flow so far this year, which has been mostly industrial. We’re seeing a lot of searches for existing buildings, but don’t have a lot available.”

“Retention (of businesses) is the key component. Attraction is our wheelhouse,” Weber said. “We’re getting more opportunities from big OEM businesses.”

Available CRE space is a factor in lost projects, along with whether a business has an existing presence in the area and concerns about logistics, incentives, available workforce, business costs and infrastructure, according to Weber. 

“What’s great about Missouri is our transportation resources: rail and river,” she said.

The CRE profession is faced with “trying to meet an almost insatiable demand for commercial real estate,” said Wakeel Rahman, vice president, NorthPoint Development. “The market is very healthy. Retail stepped up to take a lot of space to compete with Amazon.”

E-commerce is driving the market from “just in time” (JIT) to “just in case” (JIC), and the ratio of inventory to sales in the supply chain should increase. 

Rahman warned that national headwinds to watch include continued supply chain delays and cost increases for materials and construction, NIMBYism (Not In My Back Yard) attitudes toward industrial properties, entitlement and permitting, and warehouse fatigue. 

“St. Louis is still one of the tightest markets,” he said. “Looking forward, we will see an increase in automation and more-affordable systems; new geographies where companies can build; and spending more on infrastructure, which means good things for our industry because it creates improved access.”

The preliminary 2022 first-quarter numbers are encouraging, said Christy Campbell, brokerage associate, Cushman & Wakefield: “2.2 MSF of positive net absorption and a 2.9 percent vacancy rate — the lowest ever.” Asking rates are increasing in response, she said. “While St. Louis has always been a stable market, 2021 was a record year and we’re already halfway there in 2022, with 8.3 MSF under construction among 26 buildings with only one that’s tax-abated.”

Royal Canin, Ryder and Imperial Dade are leading the field; Duke Realty has completely left the market. 

The largest Q1 investment sales have been Duke to Exeter Property Group, Inc., TriStar Properties to Apollo Global Management and Duke to Pontegadea Inversiones as cap rates continue to compress.

“Trends are an upward pressure on rental rates and annual increases, changes in marketing strategies with less and less advertised rates, increased emphasis on e-commerce, and the move from JIT to JIC,” Campbell said.

In terms of some of the issues that Rahman noted, “The most common misconception about the industrial sector is negative environmental impact of large facilities on a community; but in reality, there’s no stress on schools, there are new jobs, and LEED buildings with high-tech electronics-driven systems are environmentally friendly,” she said.

“Industrial tenants are looking for buildings with 30- to 40-foot clear heights because of racking and are making heavy trailer parking demands,” Campbell said. “Land prices are increasing across the country, although St. Louis is lagging behind the coasts.” 

Upcoming CREW-STL events include Coffee with CREW, April 1; Membership Hike, April 6; Bar K & Green Street Real Estate Ventures Happy Hour and tour, April 12; and Dine Around, April 19. To register or for more event details, visit https://crewstl.org/events.

Commercial real estate focuses on bounce-back

As pandemic restrictions are lifted throughout the St. Louis area, companies are focusing in on how to return to offices and learn from lessons of the past year and a half.

In a May 19 session hosted by the IFMA St. Louis Chapter, panelists Meghan Graves, human resources manager with PARIC Corporation, and Allison Dionne, lead workplace strategist, Spire, discussed how their businesses are preparing for the newest aspect of the COVID-19 experience. Dave Davis, business developer with Ideal Landscape Group, sponsored the session. Kevin Sullivan of PARIC served as moderator.

Panelists agreed that employees, clients and customers are eager to return to the office, but that doing so requires due diligence about local, state and national guidelines about safety, some of which goes back to how they responded pandemic when the pandemic began.

When it began

For some companies, the pandemic required balancing their own policies with those of some clients. They could send office staff home to work remotely, but still had to provide clients such as healthcare institutions with onsite services. Workarounds included setting up task forces, setting precedents for who would be needed at client locations, and establishing protocols for entering buildings and restricting travel. 

Workarounds included setting up task forces, setting precedents for who would be needed at client locations, and establishing protocols for entering buildings and restricting travel. 

As an essential business, PARIC had to make similar adjustments for its distributed workforce of office and field workers in several states. “There were a lot of working pieces,” said Graves. “We engaged with IT to make sure people could work from home. It was pretty seamless. We were guided by safety. We set up a COVID response team with representatives from all parts of the company to stay on top of challenging guidelines.” Sometimes it seemed as if those guidelines changed from minute to minute. 

Spire also had a varied workforce to manage. “Once we sent everyone home, we still had two service centers up and running that we had to keep safe,” Dionne said. “We developed cross-function teams and safety procedures. Teams had to scramble to respond at all hours and over weekends. Now it’s second nature, although we’re seeing fewer calls.” 

Maintaining morale and recruitment

For these companies, the impact on morale, recruitment and turnover was minimal, primarily because they quickly recognized what employees would need. Spire rolled out emergency leave for field workers who suddenly had school-age children at home. “We’re considering a hybrid approach (now) and are taking into consideration what other companies are doing,” Dionne said. 

Reinforcing the value of work-life balance was one of the few positive takeaways of the pandemic for PARIC.

“We were already well-positioned for balance in our employees’ lives, and added unlimited personal time off,” Graves said. “A financial assistance fund for employees helped morale because they didn’t have to worry about how they would get work done and bills paid. The reality is that it’s hard to work remotely without collaborating and relating to colleagues in person, so we set up virtual coffee talks and happy hours. People now realize they have leverage and are considering different options — they’re choosing us because we have that flexibility, which will continue to be important in the future.

Companies also made a point of praising their workers who were based in medical facilities to support hospital systems and found that the best morale-booster was getting back to normal.

Vaccination policies

None of these companies are mandating that employees be vaccinated as they return to their offices, but all are strongly encouraging doing so. “We’re providing information about efficacy and our leadership’s commitment, which is what we usually do about health issues,” Graves said of PARIC. Plans are for an onsite clinic to make it as convenient for employees to get vaccinated, with the incentive that fully vaccinated employees can take off their masks and stop doing social distancing.

“That will be a big morale boost,” she said.

Spire is among companies providing paid company time as an incentive for employees to get vaccinated and also lets them earn points toward cash rewards at the end of the year. The mask mandate and social distancing restrictions have been lifted. 

For companies whose client sites are in the healthcare sector, staff who don’t have exposure to patients may be able to go maskless. Others have begun incorporating new indoor air quality equipment in their facilities that will probably be a permanent change and plan to increase the workload handled by their plumbing systems.

Changes and impact

Like many area commercial entities, PARIC and Spire are taking the return to the office with care and caution.

“Nothing is finalized yet,” said Dionne. “We’re bringing everyone back slowly, with three days a week in the office and working from home the other two. We’ll continue evaluating that hybrid approach over the summer.”  

“What will change forever is our approach to remote work and flexibility guidelines. We’re taking a hybrid approach as it makes sense for the type of work people are doing. Nothing is set in stone yet,” said Graves. 

The lasting impact of the pandemic is expected to include somewhat reduced workforces overall, more flexibility and work-from-home options, enhanced technology to support new ways of working and communicating, and continued alertness to potential health effects on office and field work. 

New medical marijuana dispensary set to open in Pevely

Missouri’s passage of medical marijuana legislation has led to a growing commercial real estate development market for dispensaries that are licensed to serve customers.

CREW-St. Louis took colleagues on a virtual tour of the North Medical Group dispensary in Pevely, Mo. on May 11 to share the selection, design and other topics involved in the upcoming opening of the business. 

Connie Kroenung, a consultant with Working Spaces who worked with North on building design, outlined where Missouri is with medical cannabis (any marijuana product created for medical purposes). Patients require a doctor’s referral and license from the state for an ID card to purchase medical marijuana products.

Teri Samples, director of real estate & construction services, Mueller Prost, moderated the session. Panelists included Zach Mangelsdorf, president of North Medical Group LLC; Leonard Volner, vice president of North; and Neil Volner, director of marketing & procurement for North, along with Christi Johaningmeyer, president of Architextures Interior Design, and Geoffrey (Geoff) Crowley, principal with Verve Design Studio. 

North originated with Mangelsdorf’s experience as a cancer survivor for whom medical marijuana was the most-effective treatment. The name refers to “true north” as a symbol of the owners’ journey toward achieving their dream for the business.

Membership in the Missouri Cannabis Industry Association led the owners to Crowley, who was impressed that they already had a plan, logo and brand in place. The North building is just off Highway 55 at the Pevely exit, a site chosen to be easily seen and visible from all angles.

“It is in a position to draw attention to the site and the building,” said Crowley. “We wanted to make sure the building was very open and inviting.”

Glazing makes the structure look light, and windows tinted light blue match the logo and provide privacy. Utilities are hidden so the structure looks like one cohesive unit.

The owners chose Pevely because they all grew up in Jefferson County. They plan a second location in Hillsboro once they meet regulations there.

“The three essentials of the building are the security desk for patient check-in, secure retail floor and vault,” said Johaningmeyer, who worked on the interior with colleague Ashley Richardson.

Patients who don’t have to sign in can use an iPad station for pickup, and there’s a touchless process for actually receiving products. iPad stations also provide product information, and there will be “snuffer pods” where patients can smell different products before purchasing. There’s also an ATM in the building.

All product must come from Missouri providers.

“We’re working with anyone who has product,” Leonard Volner said. “We knew the supply scenario could be limited,” said Neil Volner.

Interior design elements in the 3,500-SF space include bright-white walls for a clean, light-intensive overall look; the company logo as a large lighting feature and used on the walls; bold, large graphics and a lighted vanity to make the ADA-compliant bathroom look cool; concrete floors in the public areas and luxury vinyl flooring in the staff spaces; Clipso acoustic ceilings to absorb reverberation from traffic or indoor noise; quartz desks; stainless steel in the production space; and product displays. North voluntarily incorporated high-end filters and a UV ionizer unit to control odors. The design conforms to state requirements for smooth surfaces through the space.

The building includes a drive-through, which Johaningmeyer said is unusual for this type of business.

Getting the business up and running has taken about two years, including applying for nine licenses for three aspects of the industry: growing/cultivating product, manufacturing, and dispensaries, and receiving approval only for their two dispensaries.

“The application process was flat-out brutal — the hardest thing we ever did,” Mangelsdorf said.

It involved 36-hour days and wading through hundreds of pages of documentation.

“We spent about $90,000 on application fees and about $150,000–$200,000 on various startup expenses, for $600,000–$800,000 before even beginning operations. The two buildings were about $1.7 million, but we felt that was essential for the marketing, customer experience and the brand — it’s how we differentiate from the competition.”

Because a medical marijuana business has restrictions on advertising on TV or the radio, North is using social media and their website, including a blog, to promote the business.

Initial working capital came from cash and leveraging resources of Mangelsdorf’s family for the build-to-suit process and leaseback, with bank accounts for product supply. Among the challenges is that under the 280E regulation, they can only write off the costs of goods sold or purchase of product as long as the business is not plant-touching.

Finding employees has been easy: “Everybody wants to sell weed,” Mangelsdorf said. “We had about 20 applicants for every position.”

The challenge is retention, as people discover that the sales process is only a small part of the job.

To build an employee pipeline while providing a community service, the North owners have worked with Jefferson College to develop a six-week certificate program.

Security elements

North has gone beyond the state requirements for site security, with cameras in and outside the building, intrusion detectors, panic buttons, constant lighting, vehicle-resistant bollards, a multipoint deadlock on the back door, bullet-resistant glass, and live feeds and silent alarms connected to the nearby police station (which has an expected response time of about 90 seconds), as well as staff training in security precautions.

Every aspect of the process has been challenging, the owners agree, especially getting through thousands of pages of documentation and maintaining patience for the inspection process.

“You need a strong sense of perseverance,” Mangelsdorf said. 

Getting their license approved and seeing product come in the door have been the best moments so far. Delivery and online ordering are in the works. The planned May 29 opening will be their ultimate reward.

To date, Missouri medical marijuana sales are more than $32 million; 90,000 ID cards have been approved; nine Missouri licenses have been issued and four approved for operation; 60 issued and 19 approved for cultivation; 85 issued and 10 approved for manufacturing; 192 issued for dispensaries and 89 approved; and 22 issued for transportation with 10 approved.

Currently, 192 medical marijuana dispensary licenses have been issued in Missouri and 89 approved.

Read related MWM article: http://www.metrowiremedia.com/news/lees-summit-medical-marijuana-shop-a-win-win

STL CREW and KC CREW team up to raise diversity, equity and inclusion awareness

CREW St. Louis and CREW KC recently co-hosted a virtual event organized by their diversity, equity and inclusion committees. 

The featured speaker was Adrienne Bain, a commercial real estate executive with Citizens Bank and CREW Network director.

Bain offered her observations as a black female who has been in the commercial real estate industry for nearly 20 years.  Bain was born and raised in a predominately white neighborhood in St. Louis where she was one of just a few black students in her class.

“I remember trick-or-treating on Halloween and knowing that there were certain houses that I had to avoid because the treats they gave the little black kids were very different from the treats that they gave the little white kids,” said Bain.

Bain recalled waking up one night to a cross burning on her family’s front yard.

“All that was years ago, but sometimes I wonder how much things have really changed,” she said.

After graduating college, Bain worked in retail sales management where she was one of just a few black store employees, then in retail advertising where she was the sole black employee in the department.  In graduate school, she was one of only eight black students in her class of approximately 180, and one of just two black females.

When she subsequently began her career in commercial real estate, Bain said she realized that the commercial real estate industry really wasn’t any more diverse than her previous experiences.

CREW Network has conducted benchmark studies every five years commencing in 2005 to measure the progress of women in commercial real estate, but Bain said little data exists regarding race within the industry.

“Despite research that suggests that a diverse and inclusive workforce leads to higher productivity, higher creativity, higher profitability, employee morale, stronger brand, you name it . . . . 46% of respondents in a Deloitte 2021 commercial real estate outlook reported that they were focused on increasing the level of diversity in hiring, development and leadership.  So that means that 54% were not focused on this,” said Bain.

Bain said it is difficult for her to look at the disparity between genders without also considering race. 

“I would also say being both female and a person of color is a disadvantage in this industry,” said Bain.

Bain said that there exists a lack of awareness in the commercial real estate industry.

“And one of the reasons for that is because being a member of a minority population, actually you stand out.  And you would think there would be more awareness because you stand out.  But there’s not,” she said.

Bain said she notices this when she attends events, and she is used to being one of the few women or one of a few minorities in the room. 

When Bain’s husband, who is white, attended with her the retirement party of the father of Bain’s friend, he did not know any guests other than Bain and her friend.   He immediately noticed he was the only white person and was uncomfortable.  Later that evening, he told Bain he now knows how she feels.

“It’s interesting when you are the minority and often times in environments where you’re one of a few or the only one, and there is an expectation of assimilation.   I think it’s very different when you are a member of majority population but then find yourself as a minority in a particular event or occurrence.  So yes, I hate to say it, but I actually had a little smile on my face that day when he said he understood what I felt like.  I say all that to say lack of awareness is huge,” Bain said. 

Bain said persons of color also have lack of access to sponsorship, mentorship and ally ship. This may explain why there are so few minorities in some of the upper echelons of the commercial real estate industry.

“People tend to sponsor and mentor and ally with folks who kind of look like them.  And in fact in many structured mentorship programs, they often consider both gender and race when they’re selecting mentors and mentees. . . . And so while it may be comforting to be mentored or sponsored by someone who looks like you, if you’re both black and female, that may not always be possible.  And it may not always be the way to get to that next job or next promotion,” Bain said.

Pandemic continues to have legal impact on commercial real estate

The legal aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic might be as difficult for business owners and tenants as the disease itself, judging by insights from Joseph Bealmear, a real estate attorney and shareholder with Polsinelli PC, at an April 14 meeting about “Navigating Commercial Real Estate Legal Issues through COVID” hosted by IREM-St. Louis at the Serendipity Labs location in Clayton, Mo.

The key issues for commercial real estate professionals to understand in coping with and responding to recent COVID-related legal issues start with the impact of force majeure contract terms, Bealmear said. This came up for hotels, retail businesses and leases for other types of tenants.

“It’s boilerplate that people rarely thought about but would include everything,” he said. “Most force majeure provisions didn’t include a pandemic — maybe 150 contracts out of 1,200 we’ve reviewed.”

Having the federal government and many state and local jurisdictions calling for a shutdown made the situation even more challenging.

“The first question across the board was ‘What can we do?’ Some tenants were trying to get out of their leases, but most wanted to stay and not pay rent if they couldn’t operation. The issue was location-specific.”

The rule of law came into play, Bealmear said, saying that “impossibility of performance” could be used to support such efforts. Many matters in this area were resolved through negotiation because that is easier than going to trial, and “the legal system is still not operating efficiently.”

There is still no standard language for dealing with force majeure related to a pandemic, he noted. “It’s acute in situations where you couldn’t close deals — it could be disastrous.”

Co-tenancy clauses also were, and could still be, a pandemic legal concern, especially for tenants in malls, who could walk away from leases is the main tenant closed. Such events have been triggered by stores going bankrupt, although Bealmear noted that many of those would have happened even without a pandemic.

“It’s a tricky issue for both; when anchors shut down, there’s a ripple effect among smaller shops in the space.”

Cash management provisions in loans are more of an issue if a commercial loan is not local, Bealmear said; local lenders might be more willing to negotiate terms. He suggested that commercial real estate professionals suggest that their tenants or clients “prioritize debts with the biggest hammer if you get over your head.” That approach helped keep a lot of operators in business in the early days of COVID.

It might be possible to renegotiate lease rates; hotels, for instance, used nontraditional equity to keep running and saw few closures. The retail sector saw a rise in percent rents instead of flat rates. Office buildings reduced rents in exchange for extended terms.

The medical sector, however, saw a “huge wave” of bankruptcies, mainly due to high fixed costs and employee levels rather than rents. The impact was more noticeable on the national level than local.

The impact has been less in the industrial/warehousing sector.

“There is some pain in working on such issues,” Bealmear said.

Because most states do not let landlords or commercial property owners take personal action such as changing locks or taking possession of a non-paying tenant’s possessions, the leverage for making a tenant pay their rent is lost.

The challenges will continue to evolve, including lawsuits over insurance. Coverage varies by company, with suits being settled but some still active.

Bealmear expects to see new policies that will take events such as pandemics into account, and that some insurance companies will be among those that go bankrupt.

Space-sharing should have an uptick, and there will be less interaction among or for employees as commercial properties adapt to the post-pandemic era. There will be “hoteling” of space: bringing people back into commercial space only on certain days.

Bealmear advised colleagues to keep an eye out for legislation relative to business liability for COVID exposure as employees start to return to work. If an employee were to sue, they would have to prove where they got the disease, and it can be hard to trace contact points, unlike with an issue such as asbestos.

One area catching the commercial real estate sector by surprise, Bealmear said, is “pre-bankruptcy”: when tenants threaten to file bankruptcy. “The first question to ask is whether the location is unprofitable versus the entire business is unprofitable,” he said. A little-noticed 2016 case in Illinois could now have an impact on Missouri real estate, because it found that the bankruptcy code overrides anything in a lease. “You can’t evict a tenant that files bankruptcy, or terminate their lease,” he said in part.

“COVID trends in the bankruptcy process are still evolving as a lot of tenants are insolvent but aren’t filing bankruptcy because they can’t pay for it,” Bealmear said. “People who work on bankruptcy also are not getting paid.” 

Because the overall situation is still fluid, commercial real estate professionals should review all of their contracts and consider sitting down with their attorneys to identify where they might be at risk or need to update language to correspond with the continuing effects and impact of the pandemic.

Other business included IREM-St. Louis president Liz Brown reminding attendees of upcoming events: a chocolate and wine tasting on May 20 and the annual golf tournament on May 27 at Missouri Bluffs Country Club. Sponsorships are still available for the golf event, as are raffle tickets for a Busch Stadium dispay, with proceeds supporting Friends of Kids with Cancer. (See the IREM-St. Louis website for details: https://iremstl.com/.)

Two colleagues were also inducted as new Certified Property Managers (CPMs): Cory Redman, CPM, US Bank, and David Harris, CPM, UMB Bank.

Ready to rock-n-roll at The District in Chesterfield

Developers of The District commercial project are pumped up about Chesterfield, Mo's newest development, as expressed in a recent CREW St. Louis webinar and virtual tour last month.

More than 50 attendees tuned in to learn about the project, described by CREW-SL as a one-stop destination of entertainment — a hub for playing, eating and rocking [that] is powered by The Staenberg Group (TSG Properties), a local real estate development firm who designs, develops and manages shopping centers throughout the United States.

TSG Properties engages in communities through pro-bono consulting, direct philanthropic gifts and volunteering technical expertise to make neighborhoods stronger, healthier and more sustainable.

“Everybody remembers the flood with 11 feet of water that led to the project,” said Michael Staenberg, president of The Staenberg Group.

His company bought The Commons, then the longest strip mall in the U.S. at 2 miles and 2 million SF, from the Todman brothers.

“The Todman brothers realized that two outlet malls in Chesterfield wouldn’t work, so they had to come up with a new strategy,” added Timothy Lowe, TSG’s vice president of leasing and development. 

“The name came from early conversations about a music venue and entertainment district,” Staenberg said. “We’re keeping it simple and easy to remember.”

The project is proof that “retail is emerging, not dead,” he noted. The site encompasses 400,000 SF and the final built space will be 200,000–250,000 SF.

“We thought we could create something unique to St. Louis. There’s nothing like it anywhere in the country. It will have entertainment for all segments of the area.”

“We never intended to develop The District in one phase,” Lowe said. “It will start with Topgolf followed by Main Event Entertainment, with bowling, rope tag, pool tables, laser tag and more, as “barbells” or anchors.”

The Factory section will be a music venue, at 58,000 SF and a seating capacity of 3,000.

“We asked artists what they want,” Staenberg said. “This will allow artists to have an intimate experience and still attract a good crowd. It will be a multipurpose function without short-changing the music.”

Features include adequate parking, high security, easy access, comfortable seats, and top-notch sound and lighting. Events will be cashless, but ATMs will provide attendees access to cash so artists can sell their own merchandise at concerts.

“We’ve made great strides with the number of bars, restrooms, green rooms, truck access — every nuance we could think of,” he said. “We thought about everything to make the customer experience exceed expectations.” 

According to Brian Carp, COO of The Factory and moderator of the CREW-SL event, “The Factory will be a completely different experience. We’ll be able to use some of the existing buildings, which provides flexibility, and will have 2,100 to 2,500 parking spaces at a 7:1 ratio.”

Carp said the plan is to bring in restaurants that are new to the area rather than duplicate those at Chesapeake Commons.

To date, the exterior has been painted. Phase II involves building “that front door, a place to gather” called the Pavilion, with outdoor seating for surrounding restaurants and a stage.

Phase III will feature a 90,000 SF footprint for “experiences” or outdoor activities such as pickleball, sand volleyball and more.

In response to community input, the District will include a sit-down restaurant that will accommodate 650 for nonprofit organization events.

“We’ve been approached by 20 nonprofits to hold charitable events,” Staenberg said.

Phase III will depend on users and could take three to four years to complete.

The west side of the complex will feature parking.

The space would have already opened if not for the COVID-19 pandemic, and July 2021 is now the hoped-for drop date.

Other challenges included “a number of battles to get zoning in place,” recalled Michael Doster of Doster Ullom & Boyle, land use attorney for TSG.

“One problem was signage: Electronic message boards were prohibited, as well as lights and the height we wanted, but you need signage and it has to be big to be effective.”

“The electronic sign was important so people could drive by and see who’s playing,” Staenberg explained.

Lowe called The District and The Factory a chance to put all entertainment use into one place and create a dynamic area that can attract people from all around the area.

Among the decisions as the project evolved was not to include office space.

Looking ahead

Asked about the future, Staenberg said retail had changed even before the pandemic and that traditional huge malls will be torn down.

“People want experiences and a place to hang out. Malls don’t have entertainment and sociability. People like smaller shops. We’ll have to figure out what to with the rest of them, such as converting to residential use.”  

“We are being very selective and are patient — this is a 10-year project. It isn’t going to be sold and we won’t flip it. The District is just magnificent. We thank our partners — we have the A Team!”

Read previous, related MWM article here from October 2020: Current Chesterfield development on par with 2019