MetCap Adds Industry Vet to Lead Retail Initiative
By Keith Loria September 17, 2020 3:00 pm
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Metropolis Capital Advisors has named Andy Hotchkiss as a managing director to lead the firm’s new retail initiative under the Metropolis Retail banner.
“I’m most excited about the team,”Hotchkiss told Commercial Observer. “For the last 17 years, I’ve worked mainly on my own out of my home office. Joining Metcap will give me an opportunity to collaborate—or commiserate in a COVID world—with other great commercial real estate professionals on a daily basis in person, masked of course. We don’t have a water cooler but the comradery is everywhere.”
Additionally, Hotchkiss said the job will allow him to provide a wider range of services to clients. In this role, Hotchkiss will work with retail tenants and property owners to meet their leasing, sale and/or capital market needs.
“My wider mandate for the MetCap team is to be a sounding board for all things retail and provide them with a well-informed view of the retail world and markets,” Hotchkiss said. “In this COVID world, my goals are to stay relevant and up to date on all the new retail trends. I’m hoping to grow my landlord representation business as there will be many spaces to fill in the future.”
Previously, Hotchkiss served as a principal with NREB, a boutique retail advisory firm based in Bethesda, Md. Over a 20-year career, he has completed hundreds of lease and sale transactions for nearly a million square feet of retail space.
“Given the fast-changing landscape of the retail environment pre- and post-COVID, Andy’s skill set will greatly enhance MetCap’s value to its clients,” Cliff Mendelson, MetCap’s CEO, said.
Looking ahead at D.C.’s retail environment, unfortunately, the new hire sees a lot of pain in the near future for the segment.
“But with pain comes much growth and opportunity,” Hotchkiss said. “Being that we are in one of the premier retail markets in the U.S., I truly believe we will be just fine. Yes, many sales are moving online. but I don’t think the human interaction associated with in-store sales will ever go away. I think retail is turning more towards the experiences of life. Instead of huge retail boxes full of ‘stuff’ I see boxes full of experiences and smiles.”
