American Asset Hires, Plans Retail Expansion

CHICAGO-American Asset Management Services Corp., which owns and manages 20 commercial properties in six states, has made changes at the top and is planning expansion. Principal and founder Larry Goodman, now in his 80s, has hired Jonathan Hattis as president of the company, Jonathan Gordon as president of the company’s property management division and Robert Davidson as president of the capital-providing affiliate Goodman Financial Services.

Goodman built the company from a small collection of discount stores that he opened after World War II, Davidson tells GlobeSt.com. Goodman started buying and selling retail properties in the 1960s. “We’ve been brought in to transition leadership for the next generation,” says Davidson, who was pulled in after working as an attorney at Schwartz Cooper, later Dykema Gossett, for 30 years.

The company is looking to grow, when it can find good properties, he says. Most of the currently owned, Midwest-located sites are retail, and Davidson says the market is depressed and a terrific time to buy.

He says the firm has put in a lot of offers, but other than a standalone Walgreens in Minnesota, it’s been slim pickings. “We’re out there working 24-7 on acquisitions, and we’ve got two offers out there right now. It’s getting really active out there, there’s a lot of product that’s come available in the past 30-60 days. We’re working with several workout groups, and we’re out there looking at sites we consider to be healthy, in areas of the Midwest where we have properties, such as Minneapolis, St. Louis, Indianapolis and Columbus, OH,” Davidson says.

There’s a lot of bidders for grocery-anchored centers, with well-positioned markets drawing customers to create good centers, he says. “We anticipate buying two-to-three centers this year, and more than that next year,” Davidson says. “We have some advantage over the REITs, as we’re looking for a little smaller properties, in the range of 50,000 square feet to 300,000 square feet.”

The picture isn’t all pretty for buyers, he says. Aside from the economic downturn, retail was already on a downward slope with the advent of online buying, causing chains to cut down on the number of locations and size of stores, Davidson says. “Rents have been declining, and tenants are asking owners to take their share. You have to be careful in making deals that make sense, looking at what physically needs to be done and what the likely generation of rents will be,” he says.