TAMPA, FL-A clear sign of Carrollwood’s resilient retail industry, a trio of brands have inked deals in the Tampa Bay submarket. All three deals were done in the past 30 days.

Best Buy Mobile, Scrubs N Stuff and BGR The Burger Joint are making their debut in Carrollwood. The brands chose the north Tampa area for its high average household income, consistent vehicle rental traffic and reasonable rental rates, according to Franklin Street, the firm that brokered the leases on behalf of the landlords.

Brian Bern, a senior director at Franklin Street says Carrollwood continues to be one of the most vibrant spots for retailers in the Tampa Bay area. That, he adds, is because the submarket combines the factors for which retailers are looking.

“I expect a continued gradual increase in activity through 2012,” Bern tells GlobeSt.com. “The thing that's helping most in the Tampa Bay market is that there are few if any new shopping center construction projects coming out of the ground yet, allowing all those retail vacancies to fill up.”

With that in mind, Bern predicts class A properties will continue to see an uptick in leasing activity. Class B and C properties, he adds, will finally begin to feel the trickle-down effect sometime next year.

In terms of the new leases, Best Buy Mobile, a new Best Buy concept focusing on sales of smart phones and mobile devices such as iPads, signed a five-year agreement to lease 2,500 square feet at the Carrollwood Commons center at 15028 N. Dale Mabry Highway. This concept is new to the Tampa Bay area.

Scrubs N Stuff, a retailer that sells uniforms for students and medical professionals, is leasing 3,484 square feet in a five-year agreement at Carrollwood Commons. The company also has a location in nearby St. Petersburg.

BGR The Burger Joint, an upscale burger restaurant chain that started in the Philadelphia area, signed a 10-year lease for 1,489 square feet at Mission Bell Shopping Center at 12813 N. Dale Mabry Highway. The location will be the first in the Tampa Bay area for the chain, which has 11 locations in six states, with five more locations coming soon in three new states.

“I look at economic development and job market forecasts and don't see anything coming that's going to greatly change what's going on in our market, but retail continues to defy the odds,” Bern says. “I'm seeing very small gains in consumer confidence. Spending is up a little over last year. As a result, I do predict a gradual recovery.”

Indeed, a decline in the vacancy rate to less than 10% in the first quarter of 2011 likely signals the start of a gradual recovery in the Tampa retail property sector, according to Marcus & Millichap. High-traffic, high-demand locations in Hillsborough County will drive initial strengthening in marketwise conditions, the firm said, but operational improvements will gain traction only slowly in other areas.

Rents will rise gradually in the months ahead, with asking rents advancing 0.7% for the year to $13.99 per square foot and effective rents gaining 1.2% to $12.23 per square foot. In 2010, asking and effective rents fell 2.3% and 3%, respectively.