Commercial real estate company sees 10% drop in occupancy amid pandemic

“The fight really changes month to month,” he said.

“The retail and restaurant businesses are hardest hit, especially entertainment types. So we saw major tenants like Furr’s Cafeteria in Farmington finally closing, you know, Furr’s Cafeteria that we set up in the late 1970s, ”he added.

Peterson said the load factor was down about 10%, but there are reasons why it hasn’t dropped anymore.

“As I said, we have a large portfolio of 500 tenants across New Mexico, so we get a diverse perspective,” he said. “Most of these are retail stores and restaurants, but we even have some who are renters of apartments or single-family homes. Hence, different sectors of this type of different sectors of commercial property behaved differently during the pandemic.”

One of their traits, McMahon Marketplace, shows how differently each company has treated the pandemic.

“We have a McDonald’s and a Starbucks – both with drive-thrus. And you watch it anytime, you speak probably 15 cars deep. They are fine. But then we have a brewery, a gym in the same mall. They were absolutely successful before the restrictions, and now they are barely able to operate and just hang on, ”he said.

The Paycheck Protection Program helped some tenants and Peterson Properties took advantage of these loans as well.

“When you’re talking about commercial real estate that has our costs fixed, like mortgages and property taxes and the like,” he said.

Aside from government support, the community has also stepped up to help. Recently, someone helped pay rent at the Cinnamon Sugar and Spice Cafe on Nob Hill.

“We were delighted to have the community support the tenants,” said Peterson.