Learn who we are and how we serve our community
Meet our leaders, trustees and team
Developing the next generation of talent
Covering the latest news and trends in the marketplaces industry
Check out wide-ranging resources that educate and inspire
Learn about the governmental initiatives we support
Connect with other professionals at a local, regional or national event
Find webinars from industry experts on the latest topics and trends
Grow your skills online, in a class or at an event with expert guidance
Access our Member Directory and connect with colleagues
Get recommended matches for new business partners
Find tools to support your education and professional development
Learn about how to join ICSC and the benefits of membership
Stay connected with ICSC and continue to receive membership benefits
Hurricane Ian was one of the most powerful storms to hit the U.S., but it’s far from the only one to strike in recent years and more will come. The intensity, frequency and duration of North Atlantic hurricanes all have increased since the early 1980s. And forecasters predict that both the regularity and destruction of these storms will intensify over the upcoming years. Commerce + Communities Today talked to marketplaces industry leaders who have been through hurricanes, tornados and storms and asked for their advice.
When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, Marnie Marquina, general manager at The Mall of San Juan for Taubman, knew it was going to be bad. “But we didn’t know how the building was going to react,” she said. The hurricane hit the island hard, razing houses and businesses. The Mall of San Juan, like much of the island, didn’t have power for a month, but the worst damage came from flooding. “There was so much water,” Marquina remembered. The H&M, for instance, flooded so badly it overflowed and a “lake” formed in the kids’ play area. As soon as it was safe, the team hurried inside to inspect the mall and stores, but they couldn’t get a hold of all the tenants or get permission to access all the retailers’ spaces. That made the damage worse. “If a store had several inches of water, we could quickly clean and repair it,” Marquina said. “If we couldn’t get to the water, the damage became a lot harder to control. Indeed, she and her team had to board some stores from the outside because the smell of the rot from the floods was so overwhelming. These were the stores that took a year to rehab.
After Hurricane Maria, Marquina and her team adjusted their communication plan. Now, they have multiple emergency contacts for every tenant in case one can’t be reached. And they have invested in a system that sends time-sensitive messages through voice, SMS, email and social channels. That way, Marquina said, “even if you don’t have internet, you can receive a SMS.” The system worked well when Hurricane Fiona hit the island at the end of September, she said.
Time is of the essence when getting stores and centers up and running after a natural disaster. The support of contractors is one of the biggest factors in how quickly you can rehab and rebuild. That’s why it’s important to pre-contract with vendors before a storm hits. Pre-approved contracts mean you won’t be scrambling or paying exorbitant prices to unknown or unvetted vendors if a disaster hits, explained Todd Stein, president and CEO of Brunswick Cos., which provides insurance and risk management consulting to national commercial clients, including Brookfield Properties.
These preparedness plans also keep the chaos in check. Stein worked with a Kentucky center whose roof was torn off by a tornado. Tenants — which were in charge of their own HVAC repairs, per their leases — all called different contractors. “There were 30 or 40 different cranes in the parking lot,” he said. “It was just a mess.” Stein advised: “Be prepared with one or two or three vendors that are approved in the event of a disaster.”
And it never hurts to show appreciation to your contractors, even in nonstorm times. Some property managers host vendor-appreciation events or send gift cards and thank you notes every year, thus remaining top of mind in case of emergency.
While everyone hopes to be back in business quickly, the truth is it may take months or even a year for a retail space that was badly damaged by floods or storms to be habitable again. And considering the current supply chain backlogs, timelines for rebuilding can be even longer than anticipated.
A landlord or property owner that can afford to do so could offer up nearby vacany spaces for complimentary pop-ups or temporary bases for displaced retailers. When Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida in 1992, Beth Azor, president of Azor Advisory Services and owner of six shopping centers throughout Florida, put out an ad in the Miami Herald offering six months free rent and assistance getting up and running again. The property she then was managing housed three displaced tenants as a result, all of which became great, full-time tenants, she said. There are other ways to help, even if you don’t have vacancies, Azor said. If you have space in your parking lot, consider putting up pods, for instance, to help displaced tenants store their merchandise while their spaces get rehabbed.
After a storm, it can take a while for communities to get back on their feet. While infrastructure support requires the help of federal, state and local agencies, individuals and local businesses can fill gaps. Marketplace owners, retailers and landlords often are super-connected to their customers, communities and local officials and have a sense of where the most immediate needs are. After Hurricane Fiona hit, for instance, Urban Edge’s shopping centers in Puerto Rico — Las Catalinas Mall and The Outlets at Montehiedra — identified that babies were the area’s most vulnerable population. Within days, their properties and corporate office launched a Baby Supply Drive to collect baby formula, disposable diapers, wipes and baby food.
Urban Edge Properties and its Las Catalinas Mall and The Outlets at Montehiedra in Puerto Rico ran a Baby Supply Drive after Hurricane Fiona.
And soon after Hurricane Ian hit, True Fashionistas designer resale in Naples, Florida, acted as a distribution center for immediate necessities like pasta, diapers, body wash, cleaning supplies and contractor trash bags. Volunteers like local realtor Shawn Stuben and his family collected items and dropped them off to communities most affected. “Without the national guys and serious infrastructure that comes in, we wouldn’t be where we are today, but dropping off water to your neighbor also matters a lot,” he said. “Everybody has to band together for this to work, and every little bit counts.”
Local realtor Shawn Stuben and his family volunteered at Naples’ Florida’s True Fashionistas designer resale, which acted as a hub for collecting and distributing goods to community members in need after Hurricane Ian.
Natural disasters wreak havoc on lives, homes and businesses. But the period after people attend to their health, homes and livelihoods can be a chance for a new beginning. Hurricane Andrew, for instance, “triggered an economic surge in South Florida the likes of which we’d never seen,” said Terranova founder and chair Stephen Bittel. “Insurance money showed up, and people rebuilt everything better than they were before.” That sort of structural reinforcement makes the community more resilient and stronger the next time a storm hits. “I say to corporate all the time that it’s incredible what you learn and what you get used to,” said Marquina. “But every time, we’ve learned to bounce back stronger and faster. I feel like we can be hit by three more Marias and we will continue to be stronger.”
Above and at top: Mall of San Juan employees help the Puerto Rico community after Hurricane Fiona.
By Rebecca Meiser
Contributor, Commerce + Communities Today and Small Business Center
ICSC champions small and emerging businesses in getting from business plan to brick-and-mortar.
Learn more