A place agent…?

Should a #highstreet place, a town or city centre, have its own commercial agent…?

…like an individual empty unit has but for all the vacants in that location.

🤔 It’d be interesting to hear what #property and #placemaking colleagues think…?

The idea would be that:

• they support the agents with individual properties listed but take an overview of every vacant unit in a place and promote them all to would-be occupiers rather than just one or the small subset as happens now;
• they’d do this taking into account the current mix of uses and what’s missing, and could go out – as a place ambassador – to recruit for target types and to fill gaps;

🔐 incoming tenants, especially those like new independents or arts & crafts, creative, culture or community organisations not used to securing units, would have a helping hand;

• …and it would mean that properties which don’t have agents instructed – and this can, according to #TheVacantShopsAcademy data, be as many as 40 or 50% of them – would at least have some proactive marketing.

💷 There’s a complication I guess when it comes to the financials if the unit already has an agent, but dual-agency arrangements are out there so we know there is a way that can be worked out.

What do you think…?