Retail centers struggle - Dayton Business Journal:

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Officials from almost every municipalit in the Dayton area are contendinhg with the problem of emptyg or high vacancyretail centers. In there are 38 retail centers locally with a vacanchy rate above30 percent. Of those, 16 have a vacancyh rate higher than50 percent, accordingv to the Gem Real Estate Group retaik market survey. And many experts predict the problem will onlyget worse. Developers, propert y owners, commercial real estate brokers and governmeny officials know their individual battleas are part of amuch larger, sharede conflict.
Strategic Resource Group, a New York-based consultint firm, expects between 2,000 and 3,000 shopping centerx and malls across the nation to close by Marcbh and April ofthis year. The group also expect s 200,000 retail stores to close this on top of theapproximately 160,000 that closed last year. The causes of death for a stripl or shoppingcenter varies. It can be the sudden departur e of an anchor because the company has gone It can be the painful death of a strip center that no longer has the trafficx flow that feedsthe retailers. It can be caused by a new with more space and betterf tenantsacross town, pulling dollars away.
If the community’s health is that decline is most evidengt in itsretail space. Lack of buying power is a majot problem, as well. Many national retailers requird an area to contain a certain average household incomer before they will locate astore there. Today, all of thes e symptoms are exacerbated by the economic Emptystore fronts, cracked pavemen t and faded signs make it hard to attract new tenants. Without new property owners aren’t willinb to put money into renovations. Without renovations, tenantd aren’t interested in setting up shop. Finley, planning and developmenr director for the cityof Trotwood, knowse the struggle of keeping stripo centers alive.
Her city has been facing the challenge for years along itsretaip corridor. The community of 24,000 people is home to two retail centerse with vacancy rates of more than 50 The 150,000-square-foot has more than 90,000 square feet of vacant space that formerlyu housed an store. Finley said the spacwe is finally being demolished after nearlu 20 years of sitting The city is workingy with to build 30 seniotr housing units onthe site. The hope is to turn the centerr into a typeof mixed-use development. But, she a tough fight has gotten tougher with thestrugglinyg economy. “Retail is something you cannogt force,” Finley said.
Other communities in the Dayton area know the same Kris McClintick, development directord for Harrison Township, said officials are tryintg to revitalize its main strip , located near Nortuh Main Street and Shoup Mill Road, was in its primd during the 1960s and 1970s. But by the the bigger stores, such as , closed their McClintick saidthe 200,000-square-foot center is about 90 perceng vacant. “The strip center is prettgy much dead,” McClintick said.