Running a shopping center is a specialized process that needs a good property manager who understands the type of property and what it takes to optimize the performance of the property for tenants and the owner.

Commercial property is special when it comes to function and performance. It takes consistent, ongoing work to nurture a retail property towards success. You can’t put tenants on the property and then let things just happen. A successful retail property is all about strategy and implementation.

Rents and leases are only a small part of the shopping center management process. Consider this list.

1. Rent optimization for the landlord given the business plan of the property
2. Realistic occupancy costs that do not put the tenant out of business
3. Placement of the property in the local community and how it will serve the community
4. Leasing incentives to keep current tenants
5. Mix of tenants to help the property succeed
6. Leasing incentives to attract new tenants
7. Communication with the tenant to keep occupancy and conflict to a minimum
8. Owner reporting processes that keep property information flowing and aid in the decision process
9. Rent review processes that stabilize rent growth without creating an explosion of vacancies
10. Expense management to minimize expenses while running the property at acceptable levels of operating performance
11. Maintenance management to keep the property running financially and physically.
12. Budgeting of the income and expenses of the shopping center to achieve the objectives of the property
13. Marketing of the property to the community and potential client to optimize trade and billing for tenants.
14. Lease negotiations for vacant space

The list is not complete, but it shows you the most important control elements in shopping center management. A property manager should try to keep these items under control at all times.

The combination of tenants in a commercial property is the main strategy that will help it to be successful. When you choose the right tenants for the property and help them market through targeted property marketing, you’re headed on the right path to progress.

The tenant mix is ​​a product of choice; a choice of what ownership is for the community and how you will make it happen. Commercial property can be any of the following:

• Local strip shopping of a small group of individual stores
• Convenience shopping with an anchor hold
• Neighborhood Center with one or more anchor tenants
• District Center with two or more anchor tenants and many small specialty retailers
• Regional center with three or more anchor tenants and a large number of small and medium specialty retailers

When you know the client base you serve and why they will be visiting the property, then you know the tenants that are required in the tenant mix to make the property successful. Your tenant mix and strategy can be built around these elements. From that moment it is about attracting the client to visit the property and spend money. That is where the marketing of Shopping Centers takes over.