NEW YORK — At the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trust’s REIT Week conference last week in New York, retail real estate luminaries gathered to provide insight on what’s new with their companies and their future growth plans. As for the executives’ collective optimism on the retail industry today, it can perhaps be best summed up by Vornado Realty Trust’s chairman and chief executive officer, Steven Roth, who said, “The rich get richer. Thank God.”
Simon Property Group
Like many of the mall REITs presenting at the conference, Simon’s executives demurred from questions on troubled The Mills Corp., but ceo David Simon did note that “we have grown our company very successfully through M&A activity. It’s safe to say we look at each and every opportunity … but we can’t comment on company-specific mergers and acquisitions.”
Vornado Realty Trust
The Toys ‘R’ Us acquisition didn’t satiate Vornado’s appetite for private equity deals. “If we were to find an opportunity with underlying real estate value, we would certainly go after it,” said Michael Fascitelli, president of the REIT. In fact, said Fascitelli, he wishes the company had pursued more deals in the current heated real estate market. “In this environment, every deal we passed on was a mistake.”
General Growth Properties Inc.
In pursuit of more and more mixed-use properties, General Growth is exploring hiring office and hospitality executives to bring that sort of development expertise in-house, said ceo John Bucksbaum. The company has already hired a residential expert.
Taubman Centers Inc.
Taubman may keep mum on most of its deals, but it is working on more than a dozen projects in the U.S. and “many” projects in Asia, said Robert Taubman, chairman, president and ceo. The REIT, which recently opened its Taubman Asia office in Hong Kong, is investing $5 million a year to pursue possible projects in Asia. “If we haven’t built a pipeline of activity five years from now, we’ll stop that investment,” said Taubman.
The Macerich Co.
Macerich is in conversations with warehouse retailer Costco and cheap-chic haven Target for several locations to replace empty anchors it bought back from Federated Department Stores, said president and ceo Arthur Coppola. “There is a convergence in retail in general right now,” said Coppola.