CLEVELAND-Forest City's retail portfolio continues to perform the best in the company's diverse portfolio, said Charles Ratner, the president and chief executive officer of the firm at the NAREIT conference in New York City. "That has been the case for several years now," he says.
During the company's first quarter, retail led all property types at Forest City with a 7% jump year-over-year in net operating income. Retail occupancy rates also increased, from 93.9%, to 94.3%. However, Forest City's rental-residential occupancies made the greatest leap, from 93% to 94.8%.
During the first quarter, Forest City broke ground on one retail project, the 972,000-sf Orchard Town Center, a Main Street-style development in the Denver suburb of Westminster, which will be anchored by AMC Theaters, J.C. Penney, Macy's and Target.
Retail developments set for groundbreakings later in the year are the 547,000-sf East River Plaza in Manhattan, New York City and the 523,000-sf Shops at Wiregrass retail center in Tampa. Across all property types the company has 25 projects under development, representing more than $2 billion of cost on a consolidated basis.
Further retail projects in the pipeline are the 1.2-million-sf Ridge Hill Village mixed-use project in Yonkers, NY; the 370,000-sf Village at Gulfstream Park retail center in Tampa; and White Oak Village, an 862,000-sf power/lifestyle center hybrid in Richmond, VA.
During the quarter, which ended April 30, net earnings were $53.3 million, up from $22.2 million the same period last year, due to the sale of properties. Revenues were 289.4 million compared with $294.6 million. Forest City owns 45 retail centers across the country.
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