Dallas started the year breaking 42-year-old records for retail occupancy and stayed strong, absorbing a nation-leading 568K SF in Q2, according to a July Cushman & Wakefield report.
But its sister city to the west is not faring nearly as well, facing about 25% vacancy in its downtown area.
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Nearly one in four downtown Fort Worth storefronts are empty, according to a survey conducted by The Fort Worth Star-Telegram which canvassed a 104-block area and counted vacant or closed retail spaces.
The unscientific survey marks an improvement over the situation just after the onset of the pandemic when more than 31% of storefronts were closed, but it lags far behind the DFW metro average of 4.6% vacancy.
The Star-Telegram found that the bulk of empty downtown space was concentrated on the northwestern end along Houston and Throckmorton streets, north of Third Street. Houston Street between Seventh and Ninth streets also had more than its fair share.
Sundance Square Management owns both the most empty storefronts, 20, and the largest number of occupied properties, 55 out of 141, counted by reporters.
Cushman & Wakefield researcher Andrew Matheny attributed the empty storefronts to remote and hybrid trends cutting downtown foot traffic.
But there could be better news ahead. Hotel stays in the vicinity are up 32% since 2021, according to Visit Fort Worth, and four new downtown hotels will have opened by August. The city is making efforts to reposition downtown from a center of work to a residential neighborhood and entertainment district.
“You want to get a 24-hour population that is going to support those retailers all the time, even on nights and weekends,” Matheny told the Star-Telegram.
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