ICSC’s new CRRP designation breaks silos

The silos that once existed between disciplines are crumbling, making it increasingly necessary for professionals to have a broad understanding of the industry in order to rise through its ranks.

With this in mind, ICSC has rolled out a new professional certification — the Certified Retail Real Estate Professional (CRRP) — that encompasses a holistic understanding of retail real estate. According to its value statement, the CRRP encourages and facilitates professional career growth, recognition and credibility through demonstrated retail real estate knowledge and expertise; CRRP recipients are highly competent, multifaceted professionals who have demonstrated industry flexibility and a commitment to lifelong learning. 

With the launch of its newest certification, ICSC is no longer administering tests for its six legacy designations — the Certified Marketing Director (CMD), the Certified Shopping Center Manager (CSM), the Certified Development, Design & Construction Professional (CDP), the Certified Leasing Specialist (CLS), the Certified Retail Executive (CRX) and the Specialty Leasing Designation (SLD) — but it continues to recognize members whose designations are in good standing.

The CRRP exam covers core industry content within the areas of finance, asset management, construction, design, development, leasing, property management and operations and, to a lesser extent, marketing, law and retailing. It is open to professionals with at least five years’ experience in retail real estate.

“Retail real estate companies are looking for their employees to demonstrate a broader range of expertise than what one designation could provide,” said Mickey Papillion, CRRP, CSM, a vice president at Federal Realty Investment Trust and general manager of Pike & Rose, the company’s $700 million mixed-use project in Montgomery County, Md.

A veteran retail real estate executive, Papillion was part of a cross-functional ICSC task force that designed the CRRP certification and the framework for its exam. He subsequently took and passed the exam. The test, he said, is designed to allow experienced professionals to demonstrate their knowledge of diverse concepts by drawing heavily on their own wide-ranging experience.

“The committee put together an exam that looks to vet and test somebody for the experience they have,” he explained. “You have to have spent time in the business, almost touching and feeling the real estate, for many of the concepts on the exam to make sense.”

The CRRP beta exam took place late last year, and already some 330 industry professionals have attained the certification. While there is no specific course of study for the CRRP exam, ICSC suggests that those who are interested in taking the test take the time to review the specifications to get a sense of specific topics and sub-topics that are covered. ICSC also offers practice exams, webinars and suggested readings that may serve as helpful study tools.

Meet the CRRP class of June 2019

Taking the exam “was a great opportunity for me, as someone specializing in marketing for her whole career, to demonstrate that my knowledge is broader,” said Angela Sweeney, a newly minted CRRP who also holds CRX and CMD certifications. Sweeney is vice president and chief marketing officer at The Peterson Cos. of Fairfax, Va.

“Flexibility in this industry is key because it’s constantly changing and evolving. Having a broad understanding of what’s going on in the industry is tremendously helpful,” she said, adding that she looks forward to networking and exchanging ideas with other CRRP recipients.

“You have this built-in set of peers with whom you can share experiences and best practices. I think there’s tremendous value in that,” added Sweeney, who serves on the CRRP Admissions and Governing Committee.

More information about ICSC’s newest certification can be found here and specific questions may be directed  to certification@icsc.org. The application submission deadline for the Oct. 12-20 exam sitting is Sept. 15.