Local retail reports from hot markets nationwide

Entrenched northeastern markets like New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C., are in the forefront of metros adding the most retail GLA, but it’s in places like Fort Worth, Oklahoma City, and Austin where retail space is increasing at the fastest rate, according to CBRE. We asked the company’s retail specialists in some of these retail hotbeds to give us local retail reports.

Business-friendly government has attracted huge employers to the Forth Worth area, spurring a raft of openings of grocery-anchored centers, as well as a new outlet mall from Tanger and a lifestyle center from Simon anchored by Neiman Marcus. Much the same, and more, is happening in Dallas. “We’ve opened a major mixed-use project, Legacy West, anchored by the North American headquarters of Toyota, along with many great restaurants like North and Del Frisco’s and retailers like Tesla, Barnes & Noble, and Sephora, said David Shelton, a VP in CBRE’s Dallas/Fort Worth office.

“Miami has finally become an important ‘gateway’ city,” said Paco Diaz, SVP for CBRE in Miami. Always a haven for tourists, Miami is now benefitting from the flow of millennials into urban areas. Brickell and Downtown Miami are experiencing strong new high-rise and mixed-use development with a substantial retail component. The metro area’s most significant retail projects under development are the Miami Central Station, home to the Brightline, which will connect the City of Miami to Orlando via high-speed rail. Diaz reports that Miami Central will have 170,000 sq. ft. of retail and Brickell City Centre will add 575,000 sq. ft.

A post-recession boom has ignited housing construction and, as a result, new phases are under construction at some large retail projects, according to CBRE SVP Mark Inman. With the exception of the oil and gas industry, Oklahoma City’s economy doesn’t swing wildly, therefore creating some stability in rents and occupancy. Additionally, population growth continues to fuel dollars flowing through the retail trade and demand for space. “The growth of exceptional restaurant operators and the restaurant industry in general is adding square footage to the marketplace,” Inman noted.

A rapidly growing job market in Austin has been fueling population growth for some time, according to CBRE SVP Eric DeJernett. “The Austin development process can be slow and demanding, and that keeps demand high for existing properties,” he noted. New properties that do come through the pipeline — like the Domain mixed-use development anchored by Nordstrom and Whole Foods Market, or the Mueller Town Center anchored by Alamo Drafthouse — tend to see strong lease-up as retailers look to expand into this dynamic market.

Nancy McClure, a First VP at CBRE Tucson, said, historically, Tucson has not been over-built with retail. As a result, sales per square foot averages skew higher than the norm. Yet, it’s not just locals who float Tucson’s retail boat. Studies show Mexicans spend $7.36 million per day in Arizona. Retail follows residential, and housing starts have been down in the city, but new retail space is being constructed on the periphery of town where the new homes get built. “We see redevelopment of tired, obsolete properties being demolished in favor of newer, more viable concepts,” McClure said.

Suburban population growth in this border town has fueled mixed-use developments, and the success of The Pearl, a mixed-use renovation of the Pearl Brewery, has spawned more large-scale developments downtown. “Hemisfair Park, the new Frost Tower, and Weston Urban area along Houston Street, are really creating a new draw to downtown for San Antonio residents,” said CBRE VP Gene Williams.