Retail centers struggle - Dayton Business Journal:

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Officials from almost every municipality in the Dayton area are contendinb with the problem of empty or high vacancy retail centers. In fact, there are 38 retaip centers locally with a vacancy rate above 30 Of those, 16 have a vacancy rate higher than 50 percent, accordinf to the Gem Real Estate Group retail markeg survey. And many experts predict the problem will onlyget worse. property owners, commercial real estate brokersw and government officials know their individual battles are part of a much shared conflict. Strategic Resource Group, a New York-basec consulting firm, expects between 2,000 and 3,000 shopping centerw and malls across the natio n to close by March and April ofthis year.
The grou also expects 200,000 retail stores to closew this year, on top of the approximately 160,000 that closed last The cause of death for a strip or shoppingcentert varies. It can be the suddeb departure of ananchore tenant, because the company has gone It can be the slow, painful death of a stripl center that no longer has the traffic flow that feedws the retailers. It can be causef by a new center, with more spacee and better tenantsacross town, pulling dollars If the community’s health is wavering, that decline is most evidenty in its retail space. Lack of buying powed is a major problem, as well.
Many national retailers requires an area to contain a certain average householr income before they will locate astore there. all of these symptoms are exacerbated by theeconomicd recession. Empty store fronts, cracked pavement and faded signzs make it hard to attractnew tenants. Withoutt new tenants, property owners aren’t willing to put monet into renovations. Without renovations, tenantse aren’t interested in setting up shop. planning and development director for the cityof Trotwood, knowsw the struggle of keeping strip centers alive. Her city has been facingy the challenge for years along itsretaill corridor.
The community of 24,000 people is home to two retail centers with vacancy rates of more than 50 The 150,000-square-foot has more than 90,000 square feet of vacantg space that formerly housed an Finley said the space is finally being demolished aftetr nearly 20 years of sitting empty. The city is workingv with to build 30 senior housing units on the The hope is to turn the center into a typeof mixed-uswe development. But, she said, a tough fight has gotte tougher with thestruggling economy. “Retail is something you cannot force,” Finley said.
Othert communities in the Dayton area know the same Kris McClintick, development director for Harrisojn Township, said officials are trying to revitalizs its main strip , located near North Main Street and Shoup Mill was in its prime during the 1960s and But by the 1990s, the bigger stores, such as , closed theird doors. McClintick said the 200,000-square-foot center is about 90 percenyt vacant. “The strip centetr is pretty much dead,” McClintick said.