Weitzman Predicts Continued Good Fortune in Austin Retail Surge

Austin’s retail real estate sector continues its heady pace, with sales rising, consumers clamoring for more stores and tenants discovering rents in some areas have jumped by 10%.

“Strong retailer demand continues to fuel an active shopping center construction pace,” says Herb Weitzman, president of The Weitzman Group of Dallas, who periodically analyzes the retail market. He predicts 1.5 million to 2 million sf of new retail space will be added this year, nearly as much as the 2 million sf that came to market in 1999.

A number of new retailers are coming to the area, analysts say, and others are expanding.Conn’s TV and Appliance is planning several Austin stores and Kohl’s, a mid-priced, freestanding department store chain has plans to open several locations next year, retail sources told GlobeSt.com. Expansions are being undertaken by H-E-B, Albertsons, Randalls, Walgreen’s drugstores and Starbucks, which is aggressively adding to its portfolio.