Sandeep Mathrani, CEO of General Growth Properties, Inc. (NYSE: GGP), joined REIT.com for a CEO Spotlight video interview at REITWorld 2015: NAREIT’s Annual Convention for All Things REIT at the Wynn Las Vegas.
Mathrani highlighted the top three features that consumers are looking for when they visit a typical U.S. mall.
“You’ve got to curate the mall with the right tenants,” Mathrani emphasized. At the same time, customers expect “the removal of pain points,” of which the main one today is parking, he said. Customers also expect a secure environment, given the recent spate of terrorist acts, Mathrani noted.
Mathrani also discussed GGP’s recent joint venture involving the Ala Moana Center in Hawaii, and whether additional joint ventures should be expected.
Mathrani explained that a 37.7 percent stake in the $5.5 billion center was sold to investors that include pension fund manager AustralianSuper. He noted that GGP wanted to lessen its concentration in an asset that represented 15 percent of the total portfolio. Mathrani said the company does not plan to enter more JVs in the near future.
Looking ahead to 2016, Mathrani said GGP continues to feel its performance will be “peer-leading.” For 2016, according to Mathrani, GGP will continue to focus on leasing vacant space, getting spreads that increase NOI and continuing to execute on the redevelopment pipeline, which has about $1 billion remaining.