Tips For Attracting Quality Tenants To Your Shopping Center

Did you know that the average occupancy rate for shopping centers across the country is only around 90 percent? That means that out of the roughly 2,300 shopping centers in the United States, on average 2.1% of them are unoccupied or under-occupied at any given time. That also means that a lot of shopping center owners and operators are hungry for new tenants to lease their space. If you’re one of them, you probably have some concerns about attracting quality tenants to your property – after all, what good is leasing space to someone who won’t ratchet up foot traffic and sales for your center? So let’s get into some details about how you can attract quality tenants to your shopping center.

Make Sure Your Center Is Well Maintained

When you’re leasing out space to tenants of any type, you’re essentially asking them to operate a business on your premises. You should be prepared to take on some of the responsibilities that come with that. Make sure that your center is well-maintained – that means ensuring that the property is clean and safe, as well as free from pests, rodents, and other nuisances. If your center isn’t maintained well, potential tenants will see that, and figure that their business will suffer as a result. Also, make sure that your property meets any zoning or other government regulations – it’s no good to lease space to someone and have them have to shut down because they weren’t operating according to the law. Outdated or broken equipment can also hurt your center’s reputation, so make sure you’re keeping it maintained.

Have A Solid Anchoring Tenant

Anchoring tenants are those that are located in the best locations in your center, where foot traffic is heavy and the most amount of sales are made. Generally speaking, these are the tenants that are going to pay the highest amount of rent for their space, and they’re going to be the tenants that are most likely to remain with you for a long time. If you don’t have an anchoring tenant in your center, you’re losing out on a lot of potential revenue. But if you do have one, it’s going to bring in a lot of customers and help to drive up the occupancy rate of your shopping center.

Market, Market, Market

When you’re trying to attract quality tenants to your shopping center, one of the best ways to do so is to market your property. Putting up signs, sending out direct mailers, advertising on the radio or TV – these are all great ways to show prospective tenants that your center is open for business and that there are great lease rates on offer for them. You can also consider hosting special events that get prospective tenants in the door and show them what your shopping center has to offer – open houses, special sales, and other events can help you to drive foot traffic and show that your shopping center is active and lively.

Good Parking Is A Must

Parking is literally the backbone of most shopping centers – without it, no one is going to come to your center and spend money there. So make sure that you have enough space for your tenants and that their lots are well-maintained and well-lit. Also, make sure that there’s enough space for customers to comfortably navigate their cars through the parking lot and into spaces. If you don’t have enough parking, or if it’s not well-maintained, you aren’t going to attract many, if any, tenants. So make sure you’re prioritizing parking at all times.

Don’t Neglect The Small Things

While it’s important to have an eye on the big-picture items above when trying to attract quality tenants to your shopping center, don’t neglect the small things. For example, how wide are the walkways in your center? How is your signage? Are there good places for people to sit down and eat? Things like these can make a huge difference in whether or not your center is attractive to tenants. Finally, make sure that your leasing agent is conducting thorough tenant screenings – you want to make sure that you’re not leasing space to people who aren’t going to pay their rent or who are going to damage your property.

Conclusion

When it comes to leasing space in a shopping center, it’s important to make sure that you’re attracting quality tenants. That means that you have to make sure your center is well-maintained, that it has a solid anchoring tenant, that it’s actively being marketed, and that it has good parking and well-maintained walkways, lots, and other features. Don’t neglect the small things, and make sure that you’re conducting thorough tenant screenings to make sure you aren’t leasing space to people who aren’t going to pay their rent.