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— Retail Properties Quarterly — August 2016
A
pproximately six years ago,
my boss asked me to attend
a luncheon hosted by the
Rocky Mountain Shop-
ping Center Association.
The topic was water conservation
for shopping center landscapes.
One of my interests is sustainable
practices in real estate develop-
ment, and I had spent the past
year implementing smart irrigation
controllers at shopping centers.
Although I had work that needed to
be done, I decided to take an hour
to learn something and meet with
like-minded professionals. After the
first hour, I was hooked. The venue
was intimate, people were getting
to know each other and it felt like
a community. Now it is 2016 and I
am proudly serving the second year
of my term as the president of the
RMSCA.
Maintaining professional knowl-
edge of our industry and network-
ing is a great aide for company and
professional growth. Being a mem-
ber of the RMSCA has delivered
more return on investment than
any other tool in my business. Both
financially and in nonmonetary
terms, the human relationships
have built a framework for the
industry that I am in and allowed
me to become a better asset to my
employer.
At the RMSCA, we value each
person’s time and contribution by
providing a forum for the mutually
beneficial exchange of information
among all shopping center profes-
sionals serving the Colorado retail
real estate industry. A key compo-
nent, like many organizations, is
relevant educa-
tional topics, such
as water conserva-
tion in shopping
center landscapes
that first intro-
duced me to the
organization.
At the begin-
ning of each year,
Tom Clark, CEO of
the Metro Denver
Economic Devel-
opment Corp. and
executive vice
president of the
Denver Metro Chamber of Com-
merce, presents the Colorado eco-
nomic forecast. The presentations
highlight the top reasons the Den-
ver metropolitan region is growing
and succeeding. Attendees can take
the statistics back to their organi-
zation armed with additional data
to support a new project, capital
investment to an existing center or
negotiate a stronger position with
a new tenant to the market. While
industry professionals often have
anecdotal information or spend
hours researching to gather the
data, it is beneficial to have a one-
hour presentation by an expert.
Shopping centers often serve as
quasi-public spaces. They are unre-
stricted with large numbers of peo-
ple coming and going. This places a
significant responsibility on owners
and management of shopping cen-
ters to protect the asset, the busi-
nesses and the general public.
Recently, Cherry Creek Shopping
Center’s General Manager Nick
LeMasters presented on emergency
preparedness at shopping centers.
As a case study, LeMasters and
members of his team described how
they practiced an active shooter
scenario that included law enforce-
ment and community partners. He
emphasized the value of engaging
with your law enforcement and
community partners on a regular
basis in order to establish a strong
relationship.
While this is common sense, it is
a good reminder that relationships
are key in the real estate business,
not only among other real estate
professionals, but also with the
community at large.
A significant component to rela-
tionship building and community
engagement is social media. In
August, Lisa Zetah will present on
social media and the evolution in
the use of marketing for shopping
centers. Zetah’s 20 years within
the real estate industry as a broker
and marketing director working for
developers and shopping centers
gives her an inside perspective on
the benefits and challenges facing
shopping center management when
using the vast array of social media
tools. I personally look forward to
implementing and sharing with
others what I learn from Zetah.
This year will be our third annual
Star Awards for Retail Real Estate
Excellence. Peers can nominate
retail operators, developers and
operating shopping centers for the
value they bring to the local com-
munity. In 2015, the RMSCA inde-
pendent judges recognized retailers,
service providers and shopping cen-
ters for their design, construction
and marketing. RMSCA currently is
accepting nominations for the 2016
Star Awards. With all of the activity
in the market, it will be exciting to
see a compilation of the top retail
real estate in the industry.
Beyond the pertinent information
gained by attending the lunch-and-
learn sessions presented by the
RMSCA, the most valuable resource
is building relationships. As a result
of participating in RMSCA, I have
a trusted network of colleagues
and service providers beyond those
established from my desk that I
can reach out to as a peer advisory
group.
As I reflect back to the first lunch
session six years ago and think
about the relationships built and
knowledge gained, I am grateful
to RMSCA for providing me with
invaluable experiences that have
allowed me to be an even stronger
asset to my company and to grow
personally and professionally.
I would like to personally invite
you to join us at our next RMSCA
meeting Aug.18 at the Wellshire
Inn, where we will be expanding
our knowledge of best practices in
social media.
s
Lizabeth A.
Miskelly
Regional property
manager,
Regency Centers,
Greenwood Village
Associations
