Article originally posted on CRAIN’s Cleveland, written by MICHELLE JARBOE
CRAIN’s Cleveland most-recent feature story covers SREG’s vision for SouthPark Mall, a two-level enclosed shopping center in Strongsville, Ohio SREG acquired in May of 2021.
Chief Executive Officer, Carmen Spinoso, has a plan to bring the mall to a whole new level, emphasizing on the recent growth of retail and the sense of community that malls provide.
“We believe it has the ability to be an A mall,” said Spinoso, during a recent phone interview.
“I think this group will be a real good thing for SouthPark,” said George Good, a CBRE Group Inc. Executive Vice President. “I think they are hands-on. They’re knowledgeable. They will invest money in the mall. And their goal is to make it worth more than they bought it for.”
Spinoso, which runs roughly 30 malls across the country, is part of a growing crop of third-party managers chasing troubled or transitioning assets. Carmen Spinoso predicts an increase in mall defaults as mortgages mature and owners struggle to find new debt.
“We really believe that these assets can be viable, and they’re really important to the communities that support them,” Spinoso said. “We truly believe that’s a part of our mission, to help make these properties better and avoid the blight that can be created when these assets are allowed to deteriorate. Because even B and C and D malls are often in A locations.”
Nearly 91% of SouthPark Mall is already leased, but the SREG team hopes to expand their dining and entertainment tenants.
“Dining and entertainment are two obvious areas that can be enhanced,” Spinoso said. “Those are two that jumped off the page to us.”
Brick-and-mortar retail is on a clear rebound, but it’s not hitting headlines as much as it should. SREG has seen this trend over the past several months, with clear increases across store traffic and US sales.
Spinoso said that rebound isn’t getting enough attention, amid ceaseless headlines about the mall industry’s woes. If brick-and-mortar retail really is in its death throes, he said, then the pandemic would have dealt malls the final blow.
“It’s not the mall asset class that’s the problem,” he said. “People will go to good malls. People will go to malls that are well-managed.”
Source: CRAIN Cleveland – Southpark Mall
About Spinoso Real Estate Group
Spinoso Real Estate Group is a national real estate firm, specializing in enclosed shopping malls and large-scale retail properties. The firm offers a range of services including leasing, property management, repositioning, development, stabilization, and re-development. For more information, visit www.spinosoreg.com.