Madison International head, owner of Atlantic Terminal/Atlantic Center, now says "We are not investing in malls."

Last October, Madison International Realty's Ron Dickerman, whose firm bought the Atlantic Terminal and Atlantic Center malls from Forest City Realty Trust in 2017, sounded a little frustrated, in an interview with The Real Deal:

We’ve got unbelievable frontage on Atlantic Avenue directly across from Barclays Center. And yet, because the leases are so long, it limits our flexibility in terms of leasing these assets up and making them interesting and exciting. So what we’ve been doing is trying to move the tenancy into the current century.

Now he's far more enthusiastic about other product lines. 

Retail going down

In a 5/24/22 interview with the Commercial Observer, Madison International Realty’s Ron Dickerman On the Great Retail Pivot, Dickerman sounded more modulated about retail:

I think retail is becoming an asset class that people are considering revisiting, based on how frothy other asset classes are. In the midst of COVID and what’s happening with the rising interest rates, potentially higher inflation and [a potential] recession, there’s a little bit of cold water on retail, but we’ve been big owners of grocery-anchored retail, and [it has] been a bright spot for us. We believe that there continue to be opportunities there. I’d say that we like retail, and we own a lot of it, but right now we’re not seeing the risk-adjusted returns that make us feel comfortable.

Now his firm can generate more returns in "low-inflation-protected, growth-oriented asset classes" like apartments, industrial space, or even single-family homes and data centers.

Skepticism re malls

What about the future of malls? His response:

Malls are a different animal. We are not investing in malls, because we think they’re very capital-intensive and specific. We would invest in grocery-anchored retail, but we are cautious about other forms of retail.

And in Brooklyn

Of course Covid didn't help. As News12 reported 5/9/22, New Dave & Buster's in Brooklyn now open to the public after 2-year delay. So now there's a giant sports bar/restaurant+arcade across from the Barclays Center.

The Brooklyn Reader further reported, on 5/11/22,  Let the Games Begin! Dave & Buster’s Opens in Atlantic Center, the space is a huge 34,500 square feet, with about 125 different arcade games, including "Nets-themed basketball games." About 170 people work there.