By Matthew Harding, CEO, Levin Management Corp. Serving as one-stop destinations to meet consumers’ daily needs, open-air shopping centers — especially those with grocery anchors — have long been a fan favorite of shoppers, tenants and investors. Over the past 18 months, this asset class has again proven its ability to adapt and serve in any market climate — and under the most challenging of circumstances. Operational Flexibility Is Key By their nature, neighborhood, community and power centers provide a higher level of operational flexibility than other commercial product types. For example, during pandemic-fueled business interruptions, open-air environments enabled tenants to be more creative and accommodate new or expanded uses. This included increasing outdoor space for dining or fitness classes and expanding fulfillment options by setting up curbside pick up. Levin Management’s own mid-year survey of store managers within our leased and managed portfolio, which is comprised largely of open-air product, showed that many of the changes that were made out of necessity last year are now being kept as best practices. For the most part, tenants are responding to stepped-up prioritization of customer convenience. We have seen how quickly shoppers came back out once they could. Ultimately, people like …
