WPG - Washington Prime Group Is Severely Misunderstood
Washington Prime Group (WPG) is a retail REIT that owns Open Air Properties and Enclosed Retail Properties. The Open Air Properties (think strip centers) have proven resilient, withstanding the so-called 'retail apocalypse' (for example, Open Air Properties ended Q2 2019 with occupancy of 94.9%). On the other hand, several Enclosed Retail Properties (think more traditional malls) got hit by anchor tenant vacancies, driven by department store turmoil (e.g. Sears), and are now in transition mode. The strategy is to transform traditional malls into dynamic, mixed-use, lifestyle-oriented town centers (with open-air elements where possible).