Building a legacy in open-air retail

As Vice President Regional Operations Manager in JLL’s Open-Air Retail division, Lisa Jackson serves 14 different owner clients, including institutions and families. She also oversees the training and day-to-day needs of 24 property managers in the Southeast (including Texas) covering around 200 properties from grocery-anchored centers to main street stores at the base of condominiums, big boxes and more.

That’s a lot of training. Fortunately, Lisa has a lot of experience from four decades in retail real estate.

“I speak Mall, I speak Asset Manager, I speak Open-Air, I speak Leasing,” helping to facilitate communication and positive outcomes in all venues, she says with a chuckle. 

A native of Southern California and now based in Apopka, Florida, Lisa brings decades of management experience in the mall sector, including lessons learned from her early trial by water.

“I was working in a management role at a mall in Houston when Hurricane Alicia came through (in 1983),” she recalls. “We’d just resurfaced the wood floors! Due to hurricane winds, the clerestory that lined the entire mall was blown out by high wind and driving rain and had to be replaced. I slept in my office because we had to get the mall back in business as quickly as possible. I’ve never worked so hard and been so happy and scared all at the same time. It kind of ruined me for anything else.”

A move to Orlando for family reasons saw her try her hand at real estate sales and leasing, but she missed management. Fortunate to find to find a corporate home, she was able to bring retail-based management skills to Florida. She kept a broker’s license and moved up the ranks with a couple of firms, until JLL came calling in 2007 to discuss a role in open-air management.

“It was huge opportunity, a huge responsibility, and, more than anything, a huge honor,” Lisa says. 

That included the chance to create a real structure for a frequently fragmented sector of retail real estate with little practical guidance.

“We did the best we could to create an Open-Air manual based on a Mall model where one hadn’t existed before, including policies and procedures. We had to determine what was applicable, valuable, and sustainable, for six weeks, six months, six years, and get them reviewed and approved by the legal department and other stakeholders,” she said.

She based some of it on the structure and needs of regional malls, though Open-Air is a different animal, she observes: “The common area has no roof, so air conditioning maintenance by the client per lease language, isn’t a factor, and janitorial needs are minimal, among other differences.” 

So, however, is staffing with Open-Air assignments versus Malls.

“Malls have dedicated General Managers, and professionals in marketing, leasing and specialty leasing,” she says. “We just have us in Open Air, and we’re very independent by nature.”

Now, her job is to support all of those local market managers across the portfolio who may be overseeing multiple properties, thanks to the mentorship and vision of JLL leadership. 

“I would not be supporting open-air property managers if Barry Wood, Executive Vice President and Retail Operations Director at JLL, had not taken time to speak with me about the need for operations support for open-air properties and managers,” she says. 

While still in the role of a Property Manager, she approached Barry about integrating JLL’s Open-Air Retail centers into its Retail Operations Platform. Fortunately, he listened, and two weeks later, her role shifted.

“Barry is the one who listened to me, heard my concerns and fought for a place for me on this team, and I found a place at the table for Open-Air,” she says. “Now, my passion is more legacy-based.”

Lisa Jackson , VP, Regional Operations Manager, Retail Property Management

But day-to-day still beckons. Each day starts with the first of two checks of the property sustainability quality for institutional owners, looking for anomalies and recommending fixes. She earned her LEED Green certification a couple of years ago, with JLL’s encouragement. Then the day proceeds with dealing with problems as they arise, which can include closing out construction projects, contract generation, and filling in learning gaps for JLL Core Practices with onboarding sessions.

“You’re asking basic questions, such as whether anyone smells gas,” she says. “Or I could get an email that we need to onboard 30 new properties. I do onboard training for our team because I’ve been them — I’ve had my heels sink into the tar. I understand what our managers are going through and try to look at situations through their eyes.”

She is the recipient of a number of JLL Retail D.A.R.E Award for Retail Innovation and Excellence. With dedication and professionalism, Lisa started the Open-Air Learning Bridge program to help train new associates and serve as an ongoing resource in the Open-Air sector. When she’s not building that legacy supporting managers, properties, projects, and compliance she’s continuing her personal one, traveling the world with her daughter, practicing painting watercolors, returning to her teenaged love of archery, and practicing yoga.

“You have to learn patience,” she says. “And it’s important to be kind and gentle to ourselves.”

That includes the people she works with she says. Her job’s importance is as much about the Teams as the properties themselves.

“It’s not just the job, it’s the people knowing that if they call, I pick up,” she said. “It’s my honor to serve them, because I’ve been them.”