The handoff comes after
Gitlin said in July that the company, right through to the executive leadership, were going from tenant to tenant to assess which would survive and to negotiate rent.
Despite the circumstances, the company decided to move forward with the transition, which was preplanned. The company’s announcement Wednesday credited Gitlin’s role “mobilizing the
The transition will mark the end of RioCan’s run as a founder-led company, although Sonshine will become non-executive chairman of
Sonshine, who started the business by joining a series of shopping centres in 1993, said he built the company on a few prescient assumptions. For one, the company has had a long-standing bet that malls would fall to the wayside, as big-box retailers like
Sonshine has also been outspoken about his bet that big cities would drive population growth in
The internet was also a driving force in Sonshine’s real estate philosophy.
“We moved much more toward specialized retail that couldn't be replaced on the internet, which would include value-oriented retail things like Winners, where you have a treasure-hunt philosophy," said Sonshine.
"Other value oriented things like
Over the past 15 years, Gitlin has had a starring role in several of RioCan’s marquee strategies: branching out into residential real estate, as well as focusing on properties in big cities, particularly
Gitlin, a real estate lawyer by training, joined the trust in 2005 and held a series of key leadership roles before being appointed president and chief operating officer in
By many measures, the COVID-19 pandemic’s “stay at home” mandates have sped up the trend away from retail and offices and toward “beds and sheds” — a shorthand in the tight-knight real estate community for residential and warehouse properties.
But Gitlin said he does not see the future of retail real estate as bleak.
“We're also focused on diversifying our portfolio a little bit, and marrying really good retail with really good residential. Particularly when you could put that on transit,” said Gitlin.
“I don't think it's just one or the other — meaning that if industrial and fulfilment centers are successful, therefore bricks and mortar can't exist. I think that retailers would much rather have a cheaper means of delivery, of getting items to consumers without having to deliver them to their front door. And what does that mean? It means that you can get a building or a space in the neighbourhood ”
Sonshine added that the pandemic may have pushed up the timeline of large-scale remote working and the market share for e-commerce brands. But despite office vacancy trends, Sonshine also predicts that many people will find themselves shaking hands again soon — in an office building.
“I don’t believe that the office is obsolete,” said Sonshine.
This report by
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