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Shopping Centers Today -> June 2002
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JEROME MCDERMOTT, 81, MALL OPERATIONS INNOVATOR
By Donna Mitchell
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| Jerome McDermott |
Jerome McDermott, CSM, an innovator who left a big imprint on the shopping center industry and on ICSC, died April 8. He was 81.
McDermott was ICSC’s sixth chairman, from 1965 to 1966, and he spearheaded the creation of the Certified Shopping Center Manager (CSM) designation program, among his other contributions to the organization.
Possessing a talent for improving shopping center operations, McDermott had a clear vision of how the regional mall could promote the interests of merchants and be a gathering place for customers, said Anthony Hawkins, a friend and former colleague at The Rouse Co., where he worked for 29 years. His command of the science of shopping centers covered everything from the structure of leases to the design of the malls themselves.
He placed fountains and planters next to department store entrances, for instance, but it was not beautification that was foremost in his mind, according to Laurin B. Askew Jr., president and CEO of Baltimore-based architectural firm Monk and former design director at Rouse. Noticing that customers heading to department stores tended to overlook the in-line shops, he positioned these features to force shoppers to walk around them and thus pay more attention to the smaller shops, Askew said.
“Jerry was a very smart man with an inquisitive mind,” he said. “If there was something he wondered about, he would figure out how to solve that problem.” Sometimes that meant standing on a mall rooftop to observe shoppers’ behavior in the parking lots. This led McDermott to conclude that the optimum distance between mall entrances was 600 feet, which he said allowed them to draw from overlapping high-turnover parking areas.
Mall developer James W. Rouse recruited McDermott in 1956 to manage the Mondawmin Mall in Baltimore, which at the time was the city’s largest shopping center. It was there that he came up with another industry-shaking innovation: mall entertainment. He opened the center to concerts by the Baltimore Symphony, African-American jazz performers and other musicians, according to John Milton Wesley, deputy director of communications at the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, making Mondawmin Mall one of the first to integrate entertainment and retail.
“That’s where the concept got started,” said Hawkins. “Jerry understood how to create an enhanced environment, how important it was to extend the shopping trip and that the experience of shopping can be fun.”
When it came to the tenants, McDermott helped introduce important features to lease contracts, such as marketing and heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) capital funds, said Hawkins. The marketing funds allowed shopping centers — and tenants — to promote themselves independently of corporate home offices. HVAC funds stockpiled tenant contributions over a period of time so that when costly heating or air units needed replacement, the cash was available.
During his career at Columbia, Md.-based Rouse, McDermott served as director of property operations and eventually became a senior vice president before retiring in 1985. He ran 22 malls for the company, said Nancy Tucker, a Rouse spokeswoman.
The Baltimore native graduated from two Roman Catholic seminaries — St. Charles in Catonsville, Md., and St. Mary’s in Baltimore City, studying theology and philosophy — but decided against becoming a priest, according to The Baltimore Sun. Instead, he joined the Navy during World War II, after which he earned a master’s degree in social work at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., according to The Sun.
Many of McDermott’s colleagues remember him as a mentor to younger professionals, one who knew how to recognize and encourage talent. Askew said that while he was candid with his criticism, he never withheld praise for a job well done.
McDermott is survived by his wife, Virginia; four children; seven grandchildren; and a brother.
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