Strip Malls Fill Vacancies With Libraries, Churches
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photo credit: daryl_mitchell
A troubled economy has affected life in many ways, and has now begun to influence neighborhood real estate. Empty strip malls, fueled by a need to collect rent, are now filling their spaces with nontraditional tenants, like libraries and churches.
Nationwide, retail centers are reporting an approximate 10% vacancy, with worse statistics for suffering areas, such as Southern California, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Florida. In addition, commercial real estate firm NAI Global predicts that overall vacancies could reach 12% this year. These numbers are even more severe, considering that the amount of new lease space has dropped 94% in the past year.
During tough times, though, retail leasers don’t give up, but rather look for alternatives. Filling the space is their top priority, and nontraditional tenants - community colleges, public libraries, and billboard signs — have helped commercial real estate owners through the hard times. The relationships are mutually beneficial, of course, helping tenants renovate other spaces, make moves successfully, or expand slowly.
With recent news, like the closing of 600 Starbucks nationwide, creative solutions have helped create positive incomes for struggling real estate. So next time you go to grab a latté or take some money out of the ATM, check out what new developments have taken places at your local strip mall.
Tags: Economy & Business News | income | rent | strip malls
This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 3:30 am and is filed under Economy & Business News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
