Mark Decker, president and CEO of Centerspace (NYSE: CSR), participated in a video interview in conjunction with Nareit’s REITweek: 2022 Investor Conference in New York on June 7-9.
Decker said that it’s important to give Centerspace employees opportunities to grow in their careers and provide an environment where they can “be themselves at work.” He said the REIT does a lot of listening to its employees.
“If you ask for input and then don’t do anything with it, that’s a morale buster,” he said.
Decker also said that during the pandemic, Centerspace has seen “a bit of a migration out of some of the main gateway markets” due to factors like available jobs, local outdoor amenities, and cultural experiences.
“It’s made it more competitive, [but] on the opportunity side, that makes our portfolio, I think, more valuable,” he noted.
Decker said that as part of Centerspace’s commitment to ESG, it contracts with a company that can pull all of the REIT’s individual meter information so it can see if there’s an over-usage of water, for example. He said this helps the company set a baseline and realize if any resources are amiss.
“Most businesspeople would say running things efficiently is just good business and common sense,” he added.