What Is Value-Add Retail?

Unlocking upside in underperforming retail centers by re-tenanting, upgrading, and executing with discipline.

Value-add retail is one of the most proven playbooks in commercial real estate. It focuses on acquiring centers that have fallen behind the market — often due to tired ownership, deferred maintenance, or leasing missteps — and repositioning them to capture market rents and tenant demand.

How It Works

  • Re-tenanting with national or regional credit tenants
  • Refreshing façades, lighting, landscaping, and parking lots
  • Offering competitive tenant improvements and leasing commissions
  • Unlocking pad site or GLA expansion where zoning allows

Executed well, value-add retail can transform a “haggard moth” into a stabilized, cash-flowing center attractive to institutional buyers.