The Shopping Center Lawyer

The Revenge of the Parking Lot

By: Ted Zangari

It’s true: COVID-19 has breathed new life into parking lots. As Neal Freyman of Morning Brew has observed:

• Churches, synagogues, and other places of worship have been holding radio broadcasted services in their parking lots.
• DJs in Germany have been hosting drive-in raves in parking lots.
• With libraries, schools, and coffee shops closed, parking lots have become a “digital lifeline” for many Americans needing to access wi-fi.

These adaptive uses may be temporary, but “curbside” delivery and “patio” or “outdoor” bar/restaurant seating may become permanent features of the modern-day parking lot (and shopping center sidewalks) long after the epidemic subsides.

 

> Click here to read "The Revenge of the Parking Lot" from Morning Brew

 

Landlords Brace for Fallout, Search for Solutions With Retailers Battered by COVID-19 Shutdown

By: Ted Zangari

I salute property owner, client and friend George Jacobs for his candor about the mess in which shopping center owners, managers, retailers and lenders find themselves. My thoughts about the shopping center landlord-tenant relationship in the midst of this pandemic can be found here: https://lnkd.in/d2QPz5G.

> Click here to read "Landlords Brace for Fallout, Search for Solutions With Retailers Battered by COVID-19 Shutdown" from Real Estate NJ

JC Penney Goes to Court to Try to Stop Sephora from Pulling Out of the Troubled Chain’s Stores

By: Ted Zangari

As malls and shopping centers re-open, a second default scenario looms behind the tenant’s failure to pay rent: its failure to “continuously operate” as required in many store leases. Just as JC Penney is fighting to keep Sephora’s store-in-store concept operating (see linked article), landlords can be expected to likewise enforce their rights to prevent the domino effect of impermissible store closings by some tenants triggering the go-dark rights of still more tenants. Courts around the country are divided on the enforcement of continuous operations provisions in leases; this will get interesting.

> Click here to read "JC Penney Goes to Court to Try to Stop Sephora from Pulling Out of the Troubled Chain’s Stores" from CNBC