Boston – Ann Ehrhart recently announced she is launching EVERSTREET, a woman-owned retail real estate advisory group designed to help clients navigate and thrive in a retail environment undergoing a massive sea change by trading conventional brokerage for a Strategic Planning & Activation services model.
Ann Ehrhart
Ehrhart’s nearly two decades of experience includes handling complex, multi-million dollar retail leasing assignments. She is the founder and CEO of EVERSTREET and says the inspiration for the company was fueled by the recognition that landlords and tenants alike are hungry for a new approach when it comes to increasing revenue in mixed-use retail.
“Developers and owners of mixed-use properties are recognizing that retail is changing and that the people choosing to live in their apartments and occupy space in their labs and office buildings want a unique, local mix of retail and restaurant operators that are truly diverse – i.e., minority and women-owned businesses,” said Ehrhart. “A strategy for a street-level merchandising mix that incorporates diverse businesses is no longer just the socially responsible thing to do, it is the financially savvy thing to do. EVERSTREET is creating places for everyone.”
The EVERSTREET strategy combines the time-tested fundamentals of retail planning, leasing, and activation with a forward-thinking approach designed to meet the evolving retail environment. EVERSTREET accomplishes this by partnering with developers of mixed-use ground-up and repositioning projects during the planning phase to attract and build community support, then creating a retail business plan that positions clients for retail success by syncing the design, merchandising, and pro-forma with the location. In the activation phase, the firm executes the business plan through tenant selection, deal structuring that focuses on long-term viability and post-leasing services to minimize build-out headaches to facilitate a smooth path to opening and stabilization.
EVERSTREET is also striving to open the door for greater diversity, sustainability, and creativity for retail and restaurants in Greater Boston. Parlaying their experience with best-in-class national and boutique retailers into helping small businesses – particularly women and/or minority-owned businesses – the company’s aim is to help them to gain a better understanding of how to succeed in today’s retail environment.
“Delivering a product that creates value before, during, and after the lease transaction enables EVERSTREET to tackle a wider array of challenges and serve a wider audience,” said Ehrhart. “This includes engagements with groups who are looking for a retail advisor, but who may not ultimately need a transaction, a la a brokerage arrangement; for example, master planning and downtown revitalization projects at the municipal level, or even assessing ways to boost, in place, underperforming retail concepts.”
