“Consumers still have a desire to get what they want, when they want it—so, in a neighborhood sense, I haven't seen the elimination of neighborhood shopping centers—it's a very healthy segment and I think it will stay that way.” That is according to Ron Goldstone, SVP of Farbman Group. But what is he worried about?
“I'm a little nervous that the small shop retailer/food sector is getting a little overbuilt,” he tells GlobeSt.com. “There is a lot of growth in the small shop retail/food sector. It seems to be exploding nationally and they're all wrestling for the high rent, 1,600 to 2,400-square-foot, highly visible retail locations—whether they're planting in front of office buildings or a corner or logical retail corridor.”
He adds that “The movement toward getting the best locations and weaning down square footage is huge right now, too. I'd say the buzz word of today is getting lean and mean. A lot of retailers are looking at slightly smaller footprints and focusing more on sales per square foot.”
But he says that most retailers are expecting at least 12-18 months of positive sales. “There's a lot of product out there, so there will be quite a bit of maneuvering on the part of a lot of retailers where boxes that weren't available in markets that they couldn't get in previously are available today,” he says. “The best locations will still command the best rents and will have the most perspective retailers chasing them. The mid- to low-quality locations are really the tough sectors in retail. Retail in a pure square footage standpoint is, I believe, overbuilt. I also am hopeful that a lot of this overbuilt retail can get absorbed with creative uses.”
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Natalie Dolce
Natalie Dolce, editor-in-chief of GlobeSt.com and GlobeSt. Real Estate Forum, is responsible for working with editorial staff, freelancers and senior management to help plan the overarching vision that encompasses GlobeSt.com, including short-term and long-term goals for the website, how content integrates through the company’s other product lines and the overall quality of content. Previously she served as national executive editor and editor of the West Coast region for GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum, and was responsible for coverage of news and information pertaining to that vital real estate region. Prior to moving out to the Southern California office, she was Northeast bureau chief, covering New York City for GlobeSt.com. Her background includes a stint at InStyle Magazine, and as managing editor with New York Press, an alternative weekly New York City paper. In her career, she has also covered a variety of beats for M magazine, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, FashionLedge.com, and Co-Ed magazine. Dolce has also freelanced for a number of publications, including MSNBC.com and Museums New York magazine.
