Synergy is key here.
Great places are one-offs, unique in their design, merchandizing, and operations.
Creating uniqueness is our point of differentiation. We make this happen through intense collaboration among all of our disciplines. This we know to be true: the best ideas often
come from the most unexpected places. So we are listeners, contributors, collaborators.
Silos after all, are made for grain, not so much for excellence in business.
Investment
WS Development has a long and successful track record of development and redevelopment as well as both asset and portfolio acquisitions. Through these efforts, we have built a portfolio of over 100 properties across 13 states.
Today, we are focused on mixed-use, retail and lab/office projects in urban and suburban settings in primary US markets where we can deploy our vertically-integrated platform to build and enhance long-term value.
Leasing
Backed by a reputation for integrity, WS leases the best locations to the best merchants: national, regional and local businesses whom we consider our partners. Leasing need not be zero sum. We take this philosophy to heart, knowing that our success is dependent on the success of our tenants.
Each deal is an opportunity to serve not only our customers, but also the retailers and restaurants that occupy our properties. If we are doing our jobs, our tenants will take pride in being in a WS property. Be it a flagship building in downtown Boston, a grocery-anchored shopping center in New Hampshire, or a fashion and entertainment complex in Florida or Wisconsin, we commit to owning only the best real estate in the market. And we keep it that way through first class management and constant reinvestment. We do so because we are not in the merchant-building business or concerned about short-term earnings, we are in the business of building long-term value.
Development
We have built our portfolio brick by brick, property by property, developing from the ground up or redeveloping aging assets in some of the most challenging regulatory environments in the country. We have been able to do so because we take our responsibilities seriously and we fulfill our promises.
Today, developers face more challenges than ever before. New sites are harder to come by and infrastructure is increasingly limited. Even redeveloping existing properties has become a complex process. Listening carefully to stakeholders and aligning the needs of the business to the needs of the community is our strength. Our goal for each project is simple: what we touch will be made better.
Construction
We build to own. In order to construct long-lasting, first-class properties, WS starts by assembling an expert construction team.
We bring our in-house construction, tenant coordination, permitting, and design talents together with municipalities and outside architects, engineers, and contractors to establish a cooperative, collaborative team. Through intense and real-time communication, we go the extra mile to make those relationships work.
No two projects are alike. The rule book is rewritten each time as a document that responds to a project’s particular vision, budget, and locale. WS’ construction process is iterative and detailed; it both personalizes and localizes our projects.
Management
The best properties demand the best management. By picking just the right vendor to plow a parking lot or plant a tree, administering relationships with tenants with seriousness and respect, maintaining and reporting on financial and tax matters with accuracy and clarity, the operations, lease compliance, and accounting groups operate the company’s first-class portfolio in a first-class way. This work is at the heart of the commitment we make to our communities, our customers, our tenants, our lenders and our partners. What we build, we will operate and maintain and make prosper.
Studio
Great design is our passion; our belief is that simple and elegant beats complex nearly every time. We strive for timelessness, being different but not trendy, and being responsive to the location.
Studio is a collective of in-house architects responsible for the physical planning, design, and inventory of WS Development’s retail and mixed-use properties. Their work includes initial planning of new projects, architectural visioning, and aesthetic review of tenant design. Studio team members utilize their skills in drawing, imaging, and visual communications to explore architectural opportunities, thereby creating vibrant destinations for our customers, tenants and communities.
Marketing
The Marketing department’s creative talents and innovative thinking combine to advance the brands of the company and its properties.
Operating as an internal agency, the Marketing department manages all outward facing communication and collaterals for both the company and its projects, focusing on the mission of creating successful and dynamic places — places where people want to be.
The team develops a rich understanding of the specific demographics we serve in order to build customized marketing strategies for each of our projects. Just as no two developments are alike, the process of telling their stories must be equally differentiated.
With effective communication delivered via print, digital, social media, and events, the Marketing group creates custom brand messaging that is both effective and provocative.
Retail Incubation
WS Development has built its success upon the cornerstones of collaboration and innovation. We take great pride in drawing on our experience to incubate emerging brands. From turnkey spaces to custom-created concepts, we leverage our expertise in experiential retail, merchandising, marketing and public relations to support brands and open doors to opportunity. Our pop-up projects allow best-in-class brands and up-and-coming businesses alike to test the market at our properties, while providing the community with new experiences to explore.
Additionally, our high-touch retail incubation program offers solutions designed to help existing brands reach their fullest potential at our properties. Using a data-driven, site-specific approach, we work with our retailers to create unique customer experiences that get results. We are partners in your retail journey and are invested in your success from day one.
Brand Partnerships
We believe our spaces provide the opportunity to tell stories and connect tangibly with a captive audience of high value consumers. We work with brands, artists, curators, architects, and innovators to create unique and socially-relevant experiences of contemporary art, culture, wellness, commerce and community that reach millions of passive and engaged customers every year.
Our Brand Partnerships team offers a consultancy approach to building customized 360 degree programs to reach these highly targeted audiences through a combination of sponsorship, on-site media, display, event marketing and advertising.
Capital Markets
Today more so than ever, real estate development at scale involves sophisticated and multi-faceted sources of capital. And a large portfolio requires constant engagement with capital markets. The Capital Markets team sources, negotiates, and executes on debt and equity transactions from large and small commercial banks, insurance companies, domestic and foreign pension funds and the public markets. Our philosopy in capital deployment mirrors our philosophy in business: simple is better than complex and only carefully-calibrated risk consistently produces long-term value.