Big-Box Retail Repositioning
Development Manager, Seritage Growth Properties | 2018–2020
Prior-career experience of Anomaly founder Sean Lahijani
Location
Multiple Sites
Southwest Unites States
Scope
Upgrade and conversion of former big-box retail (largely former Sears/Kmart real estate) across the Southwest United States
Delivered
100,000 SF of retail space for nationally recognized tenants
Scope:
Entitlements, permits, project team assembly and leadership, lease/LOI negotiation, financial modeling, tenant coordination
Seritage Growth Properties was created to reposition one of the largest retail portfolios in America — hundreds of former Sears and Kmart boxes — into modern, multi-tenant retail. It is adaptive reuse at industrial scale, where every project runs through the same gauntlet: aging buildings, demanding national tenants, and a different city government every time.
As Development Manager, Sean governed internal operations and managed conversions across the Southwest U.S.:
Delivered 100,000 SF of retail space to nationally recognized tenants
Secured entitlements and building permits for numerous adaptive-reuse projects across multiple jurisdictions
Negotiated LOIs and leases in line with tenant needs and corporate strategy — and identified problematic lease terms before they became construction problems
Administered lease requirements in an equitable fashion, satisfying landlord and tenant demands.
Performed needs analyses and shaped strategy from conceptual planning through project team assembly and leadership
Tracked critical leasing and construction milestones to deliver spaces per agreed conditions, consistently meeting deadlines within budget
Worked with local governments and economic development offices on repositioning and disposition strategies