Half Of A Lifetime Ago

By James B. Fisher

While waiting on a hotel elevator in Groton, Ct. (home of our submarine fleet) a Navy Lieutenant joined me. As we waited we started a brief conversation that carried onto the elevator to our respective floors. He was on TDY (Temporary Duty) at the base for a few weeks away from his homeport. His last comment to me before exiting the elevator was, “obviously, Sir, you were in the military as well.” My immediate reply (without thinking) was, “yes, Lt., a half of a lifetime ago.”

I really did not think that much about the comment when I made it. However, as I walked to my room I began thinking about the words themselves, and the timing they reflected. Indeed, it has been one half of my lifetime (now) that I was in the Air Force. This is a absolutely perfect example of how time moves forward, and we so often fail to reflect on exactly what has transpired and how long it has been since certain events. This is a perfect example how many of us fail to recognize the age of our retail assets. To an extreme extent, we can see retail facilities on a daily basis that were built “a half of lifetime ago”.

It is this fact that most represents the thought of many that a large percentage of retail facilities that currently operate within our industry must be eliminated. The action of removal and recycling of outdated, worn-out, old retail facilities is one of the primary goals that must be realized for this mature industry to continue to move forward and grow. Through elimination of old we can create opportunities for new either within other sectors of the retail industry or other uses in general. Each “piece of dirt”, land parcel, acre, etc., does have a “best use”. It is through the identification and analyzation of real estate inventory that ensures that “best use” utilization is achieved.

To contact Jim:

IMST Corp.
16360 Park Ten Place, Suite 102
Houston, Texas 77084