As April 1 approaches, retail tenants are facing rent payments.
Jacksonville-based Regency Centers Corp., which owns 419 shopping centers nationwide, said tenants are asking for relief.
“As you might imagine, we are getting a large number of requests regarding rent. They range from almost every type of use,” said Eric Davidson, senior manager of communications.
He said Regency Centers is gathering and organizing the requests to address them personally with the merchants.
“Making a broad-stroke decision doesn’t take into consideration the varied and individual needs of each one of our retailers across the country,” Davidson said.
“This is why we are reviewing every single request coming in and working directly with each owner for the best solution we can, given these unprecedented circumstances.”
Regency Centers, founded in 1963, owns properties across the country with more than 9,000 tenants. It operates Brooklyn Station on Riverside and 16 more shopping centers in Northeast Florida.
The real estate investment trust's more than 56 million square feet of retail space is more than 95 percent leased, according to a fourth-quarter 2019 investor presentation.
Regency Centers said 80% of its properties are anchored by grocery stores.
Davidson said Regency's grocery anchors and drugstores are seeing an increase in demand for essentials.
“We also have many other essential uses in our portfolio, including banks, medical, pet, office, and hardware,” Davidson said by email.
“I should also mention how grateful we are for all of the people working hard every day, the grocery clerks, the stockers, the bank tellers, the veterinarians, and list goes on, who are putting in a heroic effort to keep their communities supplied with the essentials.”
Davidson said other retailers are “getting creative and utilizing new strategies to reach the customer,” especially restaurants and eateries.
He said Regency Centers launched a “Social Distancing, Made Easier.” campaign to alert local communities about the retailers who are providing food and services as well as delivery options.
President Donald Trump extended recommended social distancing guidelines through April.
“The federal guidelines will certainly be followed, but we expect the greater effect to come from the local and state governments as they determine their timelines for reemergence from the pandemic,” Davidson said.
“We remain hopeful that the curve will flatten in April, but it is prudent that we make sure we are constantly evaluating the current conditions in each of our locations.”
Davidson said Regency Centers is doing what it can to help retailers on an individual basis, including connecting them with resources that can help mitigate some of the impacts of COVID-19.
It links to those resources and its business update at regencycenters.com.
The Florida section links to the Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program, the Business Damage Assessment Survey and the websites to the state and to the Florida Department of Health.
"We just hope everyone is staying safe and responsible,” Davidson said.
“Taking the right steps now is important to ensuring that this crisis ends sooner rather than later and we can all get back to business as usual.”
Regency Centers announced March 30 that its annual shareholders meeting scheduled 9 a.m. April 29 will be held virtually at virtualshareholdermeeting.com/REG2020.