Premier Business Partners:

AMS Associates, Inc. SD Deacon, General Contractor RSC Engineering Morton Pitalo Pella Hart-Hammer, Inc. Forrer Supply Co., Inc.

As the real estate development arm of Syufy Enterprises, best known as the former owner of Century Theatres, SyWest Development prides itself on creating quality projects and building positive, long-lasting relationships within municipalities where it does business. It is also focused on maintaining solid working relationships with numerous retail tenants and industry consultants. The company works to retain long-term ownership of the asset, so it self-develops and self-manages all its projects, President and COO Bill Vierra says.

Headquartered in Northern California, the company has more than 1.5 million square feet of new projects in the development pipeline or underway in western locations. “The current asset base of SyWest is fairly diversified,” Vierra says, “but we tend to focus primarily on the acquisition and development of more significant retail projects.

“One of our larger retail projects scheduled to break ground in the spring is a 420,000-square-foot power center in Sacramento,” he says. “It is a pedestrian-oriented retail and entertainment center with a complementary series of retail boxes, theater and restaurant village.”

The company is also under construction on a 218,000-square-foot mixed-use center in Roseville, Calif., a redevelopment underway in Orange, Calif., as well as two pending grocery anchored projects in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Lasting Relationships
Whatever the project, Vierra says, integrity and relationships are key. “I have been in this business for 25 years and have built great relationships with a tremendous number of industry professionals,” he explains. “The tenants that we like to work with are typically the solid retail concepts where we can repeat their operation elsewhere within our new developments.

“We have multiple locations with the same retailers and a number of new development projects where these same tenants are looking to be represented.”

In addition to its long-lasting relationships, the company’s status as a privately held firm sets it apart, Vierra says. “Our assets are held and operated in a long-term format; we don’t typically sell any of our real estate,” he says. “That is still a little unique given the current state of the industry. We are a full-service development company that will conceive, implement, and then continue with the day-to-day asset management.           

“Everything is done internally,” he continues. “We can be extremely creative and are even capable of self-financing all our activities, which is unique in this marketplace.”

The company’s experience has also made it a leader, he says. “We know how to develop quality retail product and how to effectively operate them,” he explains. “We have a good understanding of tenant issues and a high level of comfort with creating retail environments where our tenants will be successful. 

“We can look at projects from a retailer’s perspective, and then come up with creative and effective solutions.”

SyWest also recognizes market trends. Today, Vierra says, municipalities are getting noticeably more sophisticated in terms of trying to influence not only the underlying land use, but the design elements of retail centers, as well. They look to play a greater role in the conceptual planning and design processes, he says. “If not managed properly, this can add to the construction costs and even impact the longer-term operational side of our business,” he says. “Rarely do they ever propose a less expensive option and usually it is a subtle push towards the ‘bigger and better’ alternative.

“I have noticed since SyWest is working in numerous geographic regions, that at times it can even appear as though they all attended the same planning classes and want to emulate something seen elsewhere, even if it may not be market appropriate. We believe it is important to consistently communicate the overall vision and potential parameters of a project.” He says this communication leads to effective collaboration when certain market nuances are considered in proper context to the property attributes and a retailer’s ability to sustain its business over the long term.  

“The more ambitious ‘bigger and better’ approach will often affect a project through increased costs related to supporting infrastructure, for which someone must be financially responsible,” Vierra says. “In some municipalities, a genuine conflict begins to emerge when we look to commence redevelop planning of our existing infill locations.

“Every situation can be so unique that it must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis,” he explains. This education, he notes, takes time, and time translates to more money. Luckily, he says, SyWest’s staff is up to the challenge. With 15 employees, the company maintains a tight-knit group of seasoned professionals, Vierra says.  

“As a company, we have tremendous breadth of experience,” he adds. “When we look to hire new staff members, it takes a long time to find people who have a solid reputation, the necessary experience, and still enjoy the business of real estate development. You have to really believe in what we are creating, and genuinely enjoy the business and all its daily challenges.”