MAXIMIZE PROPERTY VALUE

In 2019, while serving as Co-Chair of the Urban Land Institute’s NYC Program Committee, I invited Craig Deitelzweig, CEO of Marx Realty, to speak on a panel exploring a concept that, at the time, seemed almost radical: applying hospitality principles to office buildings. Craig was already challenging conventional thinking…

Welcome to the first edition of OUT + ABOUT — our summary look at the people, places, conversations, and ideas that have shaped the past few months. Whether I’m attending an industry conference, touring a noteable project, or exploring a new city, I always come away with a fresh perspective.

For most of us in retail real estate, ICSC Las Vegas is measured in numbers: how many meetings, how many deals, how many prospects, how many business cards, how many steps. For years, I measured the conference that way too. But this year was different…

Every year, I devour the Emerging Trends in Real Estate report from PwC and ULI. The 2026 report was no exception. It highlights several structural shifts in capital markets, property sectors, demographics, and macroeconomic forces…

You might ask, and rightfully so, what football has to do with commercial leasing? Well, the recent Super Bowl LX reminded me of how a single lease clause triggered the development of a +$3B state-of-the-art football stadium and the relocation of two NFL teams. Here’s the story of how…

2026 is unfolding in a business environment defined by volatility, uncertainty, and rapid change. Across retail, office, and industrial sectors, tenants and landlords are facing the same underlying challenge: how to structure leases that remain resilient when the world refuses to stay still…

When I introduced the Black Box™ Framework ten years ago, my goal was simple: to help clients minimize the time, cost, and risk of getting their commercial leases over the finish line. Leasing has always required balancing competing needs, incentives.…

I’m honored to step into the role of Chair of the ICSC Legal Advisory Council (LAC) at this year’s ICSC Law Conference on October 8. LAC’s 16 attorneys harken from all sectors of retail real estate — developers, retailers, and public agencies that bring a diverse range…

As we continue to move through 2025, it is apparent that this year will be chock-full of volatility, uncertainty, opportunity, and challenges. Daunting and threatening, exciting and surprising. In order to consistently achieve high-performance leasing results that drive value and profitability despite this rocky terrain, staying ahead of global and national trends…

In late March, I joined ICSC and retail real estate colleagues from across the country to lobby on Capitol Hill for tax policies that will support our industry. On day one, we gathered in Washington D.C. for a day of internal ICSC meetings that began with a meeting of the Legal Advisory Council (of which I am…

As we move through 2025 — a year likely to be characterized by volatility — to improve the odds that you can maintain high-performance leasing results notwithstanding the likelihood of unexpected curve balls, it will be essential that your legal leasing process is as adaptable as possible. To supercharge that adaptability, Watch Item #10 on our 2025 Watch List: Give Up the Ghosts, provides…

Happy New Year! We are excited to share some of the things we see for 2025 (and beyond) and look forward to working with you over the coming year to maximize the value of your real estate portfolio. First is artificial intelligence: AI is a constant refrain and getting up to speed on how it can improve your bottom line should be on every real estate professional’s…

Part One • As the commercial real estate industry continuously adjusts in response to ever-changing market forces, our proprietary Black Box strategy for managing the legal leasing process remains essential. Originally published in December 2014, it’s the blueprint for landlords, tenants, brokers, and attorneys who want to consistently achieve…

Part Two • Our focus today is on the precision vs urgency axis: the conflict between the need to get everything right and the reality that time kills deals. To effectively traverse this axis, the starting point for me with every new client is to earn the right to move fast. By demonstrating command over the details and nuances of the transaction at hand.

Part Three • In the last post in this series we discussed the precision vs urgency axis: the conflict between the need to get everything right and the reality that time kills deals. In this post our focus shifts to managing the simultaneous conflict on the other axis between each party’s desire to get it all and the need to accommodate the other side…

Part Four • We bring our focus to the red zone: that point in the negotiations when just about all the issues have been resolved and execution seems imminent. A signed lease is tantalizingly close, but possibly still so far away. Poor management of the legal leasing process at this point can have radical implications. When lease negotiations reach...

Ellen Sinreich and ICSC hosted a live webinar “Elevate Your Law Practice with AI.”  The webinar provided a road map for attorneys who are wondering how they can harness the power of AI to elevate their practices. Our panel of legal practitioners and technical experts have been at the forefront of doing just that. They shared meaningful insights…

I recently had the good fortune to tour Baltimore Peninsula with members of its development team. A 235-acre redevelopment project, Baltimore Peninsula is transforming a former industrial area that was known as Port Covington, into a vibrant, live-work-play community and destination. In addition to creating a once-in-a-lifetime…

Ellen Sinreich co-facilitated an interactive peer-to-peer session: Learning to Play Nicely in the Sandbox: Co-Tenancy and Exclusive Provisions at the ICSC Law Conference 2024. As retailers continue to expand the scope...

As the highly volatile business climate of the past few years transitions into a seemingly more stable “new” normal environment, maintaining high-performance real estate portfolios will continue to require constant vigilance, resilience, agility, and adaptability. Here’s a snapshot of what we’re seeing across different markets nationally.