Retailers have successfully absorbed nearly 76 million sq. ft. of vacant space in the last last year, according to a recent JLL report. This is the highest total in the last five years.

Among those numbers, are key players in the retail space – one of them being Spinoso Real Estate Group, who accounted for 10% of that total space.

SREG was featured in a recent article from Chain Store Age, recognizing the mall operator for their record-breaking leasing year.

In 2022, SREG was pleased to announce its best year yet. The company executed more than 2,500 leases across its 41-property portfolio that added up to 7.7 million sq. ft. of space. This is the equivalent of nine super-regional malls, anchors and all.

“It was a record-breaking leasing year for us, an 88% year-over-year increase and double the amount of square footage we leased in 2021,” said Spinoso’s Executive VP of Leasing, Michael Nevins. “We expect this momentum to continue into 2023.”

And it doesn’t stop there. Growth is on the horizon for SREG, who just last week announced the designation of two new third-party-management assignments from million-sq.-ft. regional malls: White Marsh Mall in Baltimore and North County Mall in Escondido, Calif.

Carmen Spinoso, CEO and Chairman, also noted that the company has deals in the works to acquire other malls this year. It currently owns about 10% of the malls it operates.

SREG operates on the philosophy that any mall can be successful, regardless of location, with the right tenant mix and leaders in place. Taking advantage of the ingrained local market knowledge and community enthusiasm is key to running a successful mall and incorporating a diverse tenant mix, according to Spinoso.

The company also runs portfolio-wide general manager meetings in Syracuse to gain input from all perspectives. This includes encouraging team-building exercises to share information and experiences, set goals, and have the entire corporate team involved in the integration of each property.

“These people are very passionate about their properties and possess great local knowledge, but are often not empowered,” Spinoso said. “We put our belief in them. We even involve them in our leasing meetings, and it’s often amazing what that leads to.”

Source: Mall Operator – Chain Store Age