The retail industry is pivoting—it is essential to its growth as the world begins to emerge from the pandemic and the pent-up demand is realized. As space becomes available landlords and developers are taking new, different approaches to reconfiguring and selling, while brands with the capital make calculated decisions on where and how to invest in brick-and-mortar.

Owners are strategically determining how to best utilize available space to make it more advantageous—repositioning to make it flexible for a variety of different tenants; parceling out larger spaces to provide multiple, smaller options; and overall creating a mixed-use destination that can house a diverse portfolio of tenants. 

Doing this work now demonstrates a long-term view as businesses ready for the holiday season and the eventual return to full-capacity shopping experiences. This approach to landlord enabling work creates resiliency—opening up real estate for a variety of uses and activating more space to generate revenue.

Shawmut continues to work directly with developers, landlords, and retailers, with a diverse project portfolio that has grown the team’s expertise in repositioning, core and shell, and mixed-use work across the country. The project delivery methods that the team uses on big building and large project work translates seamlessly to the new era of retail spaces as the industry innovates and adapts.     

Retail is nimble, and the developers, landlords, and retailers that are willing to commit now have the opportunity to work towards a common goal—being the first new space to open as pandemic restrictions slowly ease, capturing foot traffic and driving revenue—and set themselves up for success in the long run.