News
RETAIL LIVES?
August 9, 2011
| Year-over-year sales are up across Continental Realty's Baltimore County retail portfolio. Yesterday, VP David Donato told us it might mean well-located properties have cleared the worst of the market. (No recession is gonna keep us from buying a big TV and a crisp pair of chinos: this is America.) |
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| Speaking of chinos: David (snapped in his office) tells us that ?although things aren't going gangbusters like before the recession," he's optimistic about the next 12 months. Activity, occupancy, and rents in the county are trending upward, even if many new deals are slow to cross the finish line. (Tortoises get to the same finish line as hares.) 2011 has been the best year since 2007 for many of Continental's tenants, but that doesn't mean folks are taking risks. National retailers balk at opening stores outside historically strong areas like Towson, Owings Mills, and Timonium, and there's little appetite for infill sites. Tenants to watch for? Value gyms like Planet Fitness will outperform the competition, says David, and ?necessity retail? (think grocery stores and dry cleaners) is always a safe bet. (Not a safe bet: high-end magic stores.) |
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| Which brings us to his newest project, an 8,000 SF industrial building conversion at the corner of Falls and Clarkview roads. Restaurant Earth, Wood, and Fire will be the lead tenant, and David tells us he expects ?more demand than we can accommodate? for the remaining available spaces (850 to 3,000 SF for retail and a 1,450 SF caf space). ?We're looking for users to serve the 1,000 workers at Bare Hills Business Park, which is behind the site,? he says. Construction finishes in two weeks. |
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| David's not the only one with an active retail center. Late last week Manekin's 75k SF Anchor Square (at the intersection of I-95 and Eastern Ave) reached 100% occupancy. And it involves Big Macs: McDonald's is leasing the last available parcel at the site, a 4,000 SF pad. As a celebration, yesterday it donated 50% of each happy meal purchased to the Ronald McDonald House of Greater Baltimore. |
