Retail Flop
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Suburban retail is in a world of hurt, according to a report from CBRE's Joe Parrott and Jim Sakanich, who we snapped at their office. 10M SF of area anchor spaces are vacant. That's more than double '04. About 40% of those spaces recently housed out-of-business retailers like Steve & Barry's, Circuit City, Linens 'n Things and Value City, Joe says. This means a five-year supply is now available. Joe and Jim spent months driving the 'burbs, calling their contacts, and doing Internet research to put together the report. |
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Here's Jim, who we managed to coax back onto the land portion of the map. He says Aurora/Naperville, Calumet City/Lansing,Bloomingdale, Chicago-Ford City, and Matteson are the top areas with retail anchor vacancy. He's confident spaces will be filled, just like when Service Merchandise and Toys 'R' Us cut stores, though he still knows of one and a half Service Merchandise spots still up for grabs. Currently, 58% of the anchor spaces available have been vacant for more than a year, including 20% more than three. "If you lose a Circuit City, it's not like the Best Buy is going to take that space, because they already have one nearby," Joe says |
