Managing a shopping center is a specialized process needed by a good property manager who understands the type of property and what is required to optimize the property’s performance for tenants and the owner.

Commercial property is special when it comes to function and performance. It takes constant and continuous work to foster the success of a retail property. You can’t put tenants in the property and then just let things happen. Successful commercial property is all about strategy and implementation.

Rentals and leases are only a small part of the mall management process. Consider this list.

1. Rent optimization for the landlord given the property’s business plan
2. Realistic occupancy costs that don’t put the tenant out of business.
3. Placement of the property in the local community and how it will serve the community
4. Lease incentives to keep current tenants
5. Combination of tenants to help the property succeed
6. Leasing incentives to attract new tenants
7. Communication with tenants to keep occupancy and conflict to a minimum
8. Owner reporting processes that keep property information flowing and aid the decision process
9. Rent review processes that stabilize rental growth without creating a vacancy explosion
10. Expense management to minimize expenses while operating the property at acceptable levels of operational performance
11. Maintenance management to keep the property running financially and physically
12. Budgeting for the mall’s income and expenses to meet the property’s goals.
13. Market the property to the community and the potential client to optimize the commerce and billing of the tenants.
14. Negotiations for the lease of vacant space

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

Combining tenants in a commercial property is the main strategy that will help you succeed. When you choose the right tenants for the property and help them trade through targeted property marketing, you are on the right path to progress.

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

• Local Strip Shopping of a small group of individual stores
• Convenience shopping with an anchor tenant
• 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 customer base you serve, and why they will visit the property, then you will meet the tenants that are required in the tenant mix for the property to be successful. Your tenant mix and strategy can be built around these elements. From that moment on, it is about attracting the client to visit the property and spend money. That’s where mall marketing takes over.