PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --
PREIT (NYSE: PEI) celebrated a milestone fall with the
successful opening of its newest property, Fashion District
Philadelphia; a new phase of tenant openings at Plymouth Meeting
Mall; and the redevelopment and expansion of Woodland Mall. These
three projects are the latest in PREIT's long-term transformation
plan that encompassed low-productivity asset
dispositions, anchor repositioning and high-impact
redevelopment and remerchandising initiatives, laying the
groundwork for earnings growth and portfolio strength in the new
paradigm for retail. PREIT's investment of over $360 million and years of strategic planning at
these properties has already proven successful, with sales and
traffic exceeding expectations across all three opening weekends,
setting the stage for the future of each property.
"This was a monumental two months for PREIT as three very
distinct and exciting projects came to fruition," said Joseph F. Coradino, CEO of PREIT. "Our series of
openings at Fashion District Philadelphia, Plymouth Meeting Mall
and Woodland Mall exemplify our strategic vision and tactical
expertise in creating environments that offer a diverse tenant mix,
elevate the consumer experience and create social experiences that
allow our tenants to maximize their business. This marks a new era
of transforming malls into destinations and driving growth out of
PREIT's stronger portfolio."
Combined, the scale of these property milestones underscores
their impact:
- Over 700,000 square feet of new or remerchandised tenants
currently open
- Over 1.6 million people have visited the properties since their
launches
- 90% of retailers reported strong traffic and sales for opening
weekend
- 5,000+ jobs across three communities throughout various stages
of the projects
Fashion District Philadelphia
Fashion District
Philadelphia (The District), a joint venture partnership
between PREIT and Macerich, celebrated its launch weekend
September 19-22, with four days of
festivities to mark the opening of Philadelphia's newest shopping, dining,
entertainment and cultural destination. Spanning three city blocks
and approximately 900,000 square feet of space, this
portfolio-defining project is over 80% leased. The
District celebrated opening weekend with promotional events from
its dynamic mix of tenants, live music, giveaways, fashion shows,
guided art crawls, fitness classes and more. Over 1.3 million
visitors have discovered The District since opening, driving
meaningful results for retailers, with 87% of tenants reporting
strong traffic and sales, and a majority exceeding sales
expectations for opening weekend.
New updates:
- AMC Theatres is now open
- Primark, Sephora and Kate Spade
will join the lineup in 2020.
Plymouth Meeting Mall
As part of its ongoing
portfolio enhancement initiatives, PREIT is welcoming over 200,000
square feet of new retail, dining and experiential concepts for
consumers at Plymouth Meeting Mall. Most recently, the company
initiated proactive and strategic remerchandising efforts,
including the redevelopment of anchor space to welcome five diverse
and in-demand concepts. Dick's Sporting Goods, Burlington, Miller's Ale House and Edge Fitness have
already opened their doors, with Michaels – opening in 2020 –
completing the anchor space. The new, invigorated storefronts
drove increases in shopper traffic within the mall by over 25%
percent in October.
New Updates:
- Roll by Goodyear has joined the exterior lineup
- Restore Cryotherapy, Ideal Image and Sola Salon will create a
new wellness cluster when they join the roster in 2020.
These tenants join Plymouth Meeting Mall's expansive and unique
offerings, which already include one of nine LEGOLAND Discovery
Center locations in the country; Whole Foods; Dave & Buster's;
a dine & recline AMC Movie Theatre; Cyclebar, an indoor cycling
studio; and five existing sit-down restaurants in addition to
quick-serve food options. The mall's highly-visible and accessible
location lends itself well to a mix of uses and is anticipated to
be the next location in PREIT's portfolio to add an apartment
development.
Woodland Mall
Most recently, PREIT celebrated the
opening of the highly-anticipated Woodland Mall expansion
wing, featuring a lineup of high-impact tenants, many of which are
exclusive and new-to-market such as Von
Maur, Urban Outfitters, Tricho Salon, Paddle North and
Mobile Stations. The expansion wing is a result of PREIT's efforts
to proactively recapture a former anchor tenant space, Sears, to
make way for new and compelling uses, a trend that has been seen
across its portfolio. The new retailers further enrich Woodland
Mall as a dominant consumer destination complete with in-demand
dining, high-quality retail and a blend of national and local
tenants.
Woodland Mall celebrated its grand opening with a mall-wide
celebration that included live music, activities, giveaways,
fashion shows, tenant promotions, entertainment, a ribbon cutting
and more. Over the three-day weekend, traffic was robust - only
6,000 consumers away from surpassing last year's Black Friday
weekend. Since opening, traffic has increased 40% over the same
period last year.
New Updates:
- The Cheesecake Factory – the only one within 50 miles - is now
open
- Sought-after retail offerings, Sephora
and White House | Black Market, will join the lineup in
2020
"The variety and strength of our culminating redevelopment
projects highlight the depth and breadth of PREITs multi-year
redevelopment program, driving growth into 2020 and beyond as these
properties stabilize with over 1 million square feet of incremental
rent-paying space," said Joe
Coradino, PREIT CEO. "We are proud of what the PREIT
team has delivered in an ever-changing retail environment and are
certain that our transformed portfolio – re-booted with two new
trophy properties and on the verge of adding apartment complexes –
will draw attention from best-in-class operators."
About PREIT
PREIT (NYSE:PEI) is a publicly
traded real estate investment trust that owns and manages quality
properties in compelling markets. PREIT's robust portfolio of
carefully curated retail and lifestyle offerings mixed with
destination dining and entertainment experiences are located
primarily in the densely-populated eastern U.S. with concentrations
in the Mid-Atlantic's top MSAs. Since 2012, the company has driven
a transformation guided by an emphasis on portfolio quality,
balance sheet strength and disciplined capital expenditures.
Additional information is available at www.preit.com or on
Twitter or LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release
contains certain forward-looking statements that can be identified
by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate,"
"expect," "project," "intend," "may" or similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs,
projections, future plans, strategies, anticipated events, trends
and other matters that are not historical facts. These
forward-looking statements reflect our current views about future
events, achievements or results and are subject to risks,
uncertainties and changes in circumstances that might cause future
events, achievements or results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. In
particular, our business might be materially and adversely affected
by changes in the retail and real estate industries, including
consolidation and store closings, particularly among anchor
tenants; current economic conditions and the corresponding effects
on tenant business performance, prospects, solvency and leasing
decisions; our inability to collect rent due to the bankruptcy or
insolvency of tenants or otherwise; our ability to maintain and
increase property occupancy, sales and rental rates; increases in
operating costs that cannot be passed on to tenants; the effects of
online shopping and other uses of technology on our retail tenants;
risks related to our development and redevelopment activities,
including delays, cost overruns and our inability to reach
projected occupancy or rental rates; acts of violence at malls,
including our properties, or at other similar spaces, and the
potential effect on traffic and sales; our ability to sell
properties that we seek to dispose of or our ability to obtain
prices we seek; our substantial debt and the liquidation preference
of our preferred shares and our high leverage ratio; our ability to
refinance our existing indebtedness when it matures, on favorable
terms or at all; our ability to raise capital, including through
sales of properties or interests in properties and through the
issuance of equity or equity-related securities if market
conditions are favorable; and potential dilution from any capital
raising transactions or other equity issuances. Additional factors
that might cause future events, achievements or results to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking
statements include those discussed herein and in our Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2018 in the section entitled "Item 1A. Risk Factors" and our
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended
September 30, 2019 in the section
entitled "Item 1A. Risk Factors." We do not intend to update or
revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information,
future events or otherwise.
CONTACT:
Heather
Crowell
EVP, Strategy & Communications
(215) 454-1241
heather.crowell@preit.com
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