'Small Ball' Retail Development Marks Orlando

James Mitchell

ORLANDO—When it comes to a retail recovery, Orlando has come a long way in some ways. In other ways, not much has changed. GlobeSt.com caught up with James Mitchell , a senior vice president with CBRE, to get his thoughts on trends in Orlando’s retail market in part one of this exclusive interview. Stay tuned for part two, in which he will discuss his outlook for the city’s restaurant market and more. GlobeSt.com: What’s the state of the retail market in Orlando right now? Mitchell: Orlando’s retail market is a very vibrant, exiting and active market space currently. It’s a different type of active though versus the last upturn in the retail cycle. The last cycle was primarily driven by large-box retail development in growing, suburban areas whereas this cycle has been driven by more “small ball” type redevelopment of infill sites. Rents and activity are still on the upturn for the infill submarkets where both new tenant market entrants and incumbent Orlando tenants compete for the best new retail developments. GlobeSt.com: Where do you see that development occurring? Mitchell: Again, we are seeing a lot of “small ball” type activity where outparcel users are very active as are tenants who occupy efficient, high profile retail centers.  I can count on one hand the amount of large box retail developments that have occurred in the Orlando MSA over the last eight years. We aren’t experiencing that type of regional power centers being developed like we did previously. We saw scary negative absorption during the last downturn, especially on the junior box and big box front which took a very long duration to be filled. Couple that with the strong push to e-commerce, what I call the “Amazon Effect” and I think the trend towards smaller, e-commerce resistant, consumer staple oriented, infill development will continue into the long-term. GlobeSt.com: What new tenants are moving into Orlando? Mitchell: Several new market entrants—both open and pending opening—that we’ve seen in the Orlando market over the last 24 months include, Academy Sports, Earthfare, Lucky’s Market, Sprouts Farmer’s Market, Newk’s Eatery, Rubio’s Coastal Grille and Zoe’s Kitchen. All these new retail entrants are in very great demand for high-profile existing shopping centers and new development projects. Central Florida CRE remains strong with Multifamily, Retail and Industrial leading the way. Are You In The Know? How can you profit?  Join us  at RealShare Central Florida on September 7th for impactful information from the leaders in Central Florida CRE. Learn more.