About Mark Olear
In a September 2017 interview, Getty Realty CEO Christopher Constant discussed the company's recent acquisitions and expansion strategy. Constant stated that the company had acquired more than 100 properties for over $200 million in 2017, including the Empire Petroleum and Apple Green transactions. He described these acquisitions as significant entrances into the southwestern and southeastern US markets, adding two new tenants to the portfolio. Constant noted that the acquired properties were convenience and gas locations, with some in the Apple Green transaction featuring standalone or in-store quick service restaurants, a trend he said was growing in the industry.
Constant also addressed the company's redevelopment pipeline, stating that Getty Realty had completed two redevelopment projects and expected to complete a third by the end of 2017. He said the company believed it could redevelop between 40 and 80 properties in its portfolio, describing the process as taking long-owned assets and either rebuilding them as convenience and gas locations or refreshing them with alternative retail uses. Constant added that this approach added new tenants, extended asset life, and helped diversify the company in terms of tenant type and retail uses.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Mark Olear's recent appearances.
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Transcript (11 segments)
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Sarah Box0:04
I'm Sarah Box and Quito here in Dallas for NAREIT's REITworld 2017. I'm joined today by Chris Constant, President and CEO of Getty Realty Corp. Welcome, Chris.
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Chris Constant0:15
Thank you.
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Sarah Box0:15
So Chris, earlier this year we saw two acquisitions: Empire Petroleum and Apple Green. What impact is expected from those two?
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Chris Constant0:23
Well, first off, we're very excited about executing on our growth strategy this year. We've acquired more than a hundred properties for more than two hundred million thus far in 2017. Empire Petroleum and Apple Green specifically are very exciting for us for a number of reasons. First off, they are two new tenants to our portfolio. The acquisitions were also in two geographic regions which we've been studying for some time, and these were a significant entrance into those markets. The Empire Petroleum transaction was primarily in the southwestern US, and the Apple Green transaction was primarily in the southeastern US. So those were markets where we had been studying and had a smaller presence, but now we're there in a much more significant way. In terms of the properties that we acquired in those portfolios, they're all excellent convenience and gas locations, which is our sweet spot. All of the stores have highly profitable bean stores, and some of them, specifically in the Apple Green transaction, have either standalone or in-store quick service restaurants, which is a trend that we're seeing more and more in the convenience and gas industry.
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Sarah Box1:38
And other geographic areas that you're looking at? And how competitive is it right now?
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Chris Constant1:40
Well, we're really focused on being in urban and suburban markets that are more densely populated or have strong demographic trends. We're very comfortable in some of our core markets, which are primarily the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, where we've been operating for a very long time. We're also studying and would like to expand in markets that we have a smaller presence, specifically the West Coast, southwestern US, and the southeastern US.
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Sarah Box2:09
And can you bring us up to date on Getty's redevelopment pipeline and the benefits you expect?
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Chris Constant2:13
Well, we're very excited about redevelopment in general. We think it demonstrates the value that we have inside of our current owned portfolio. To date, we've completed two projects, and we expect to complete a third project before the end of the year. In total, we think we can redevelop somewhere between 40 and 80 properties in our own portfolio. I think the most exciting part about redevelopment at Getty is that we're taking assets in many cases which we've owned for a very long time, and we're either completely doing raze-and-rebuilds for convenience and gas locations, or we're refreshing the location with an alternative retail use. In particular, it adds new tenants to our portfolio, it extends the life of certain of our assets, and it helps us diversify the company both in terms of tenant type and in terms of new retail uses.
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Sarah Box3:13
Great. Well, thank you very much, Chris.
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Chris Constant3:15
Thank you.
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Sarah Box3:15
And for more news and information about REITworld 2017, be sure to visit REIT.com.
