Retail Space

RETAIL SPACE FOR LEASE

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Be creative to fill hard-to-lease retail space

The need by many retailers for smaller stores has left some landlords with awkwardly shaped spots to fill, but owners are rising to the challenge.

Empty big-boxes and department stores in particular remain a problem.  It is recommended that recruiting nontraditional users such as glow-in-the-dark golfing or swimming-oriented concepts for children.  Such uses may not pay as high rent as the previous tenants, but they can help drive a center’s connection to the community.  If you have a spot that’s been vacant for years go out into the community and figure out how to turn the lights on.

Local retailers are another good solution, though finding and nurturing good mom-and-pops may require more work than publicly-owned landlords are willing to expend. Moreover, dealing with the inevitable failures that result from experimenting with new concepts and ideas can spook investors and institutional lenders.  Sometimes for owners it's better to have a vacancy than a loss.   When bringing mom-and-pops into retail centers it’s important to provide short-term leases.

Emergency care medical centers and medical tenants dealing with cosmetics are good solutions for hard-to-fill spaces in retail centers, but call centers and pop-up shops are not. Call centers aren’t taking up as much real estate as some had predicted in recent years, plus they require extra security and don’t draw traffic to a center. It’s virtually impossible to attract a pop-up shop to a troubled space, as those tenants always want maximum visibility in prime space.

Via Haag BrownCommercial and  ICSC