Have you ever rented commercial space in a retail center? If you have, you know how many moving parts there can be in locating the best options, securing the space, and then modifying it to your business's needs. If you haven't ever rented retail space, we've created this fun infographic that lists most of the steps and the time frame each can take. We thought using the most popolar board game in history as the backdrop seemed like a no brainer!
Continue reading
With Fresh Markets, Trader Joes, Central Market, and Whole Foods adding Houston locations, it creates a large impact on Houston retail space. A few tidbits about the infographic on Houston specialty grocers -
Continue reading
Frozen yogurt hub Pinkberry has opened its third Houston retail space, this time in the Highland Village area just inside the Interstate 610 loop.
Continue reading
At 2066 Crist Drive, in Los Altos, California, a nondescript ranch home still stands in a suburban neighborhood not unlike many others across the country. For technology enthusiasts, though, the home is their mecca - it is where Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak toiled for countless hours, eventually pioneering the first Apple computer.
Continue reading
Houston's economic success is thought to be attributable in large part to its energy industry, but when any economy grows 8.6 percent in one year, there must be many other factors responsible for those gains.
Continue reading
Prestige Properties knows that it is a risk to break ground for the first suburban-style fashion mall to be built in New York City in nearly 40 years, but it's one that they are willing to take. Indoor malls have received mixed reviews, with shops at The Time Warner Center thriving, while outlets at the South Sea Seaport have struggled.
Continue reading
Continue reading
Continue reading
Continue reading
Continue reading
Continue reading
Small business owners with intentions of operating in the South should look no further than Austin, Texas, which continues its three-year reign atop The Business Journals' rankings of best southern cities for these organizations. This should spell good news for providers of Austin office space.
Continue reading
The Shops at Park Lane in Dallas, Texas contains dozens of stores and restaurants in an outdoor mall setting, allowing shoppers to spend hours outside if they so desire. The shops sit on a 33.5 acre space, so there is always room for additional development. With this in mind, two Southern Methodist University graduates want to bring an American pastime - with a contemporary twist - to the area.
Continue reading
Along with the other major office markets in Texas, Houston office space may be effected by urban areas leading population grown for the first time in 20 years.
Continue reading
Since the height of the recent economic recession, malls and shopping centers around the country have felt increasing pressure stemming from shuttering stores {never heard that term but Lisa claims it's legit} and climbing vacancy rates. However, with jobs figures and economic indicators heading in the right direction, more shopping centers are noticing increasing demand for retail space for lease, particularly in burgeoning metropolitan areas such as Austin.
Continue reading
While more technology firms and financial businesses continue to search for office space for lease in Houston, Austin and Dallas, one national grocery chain has announced its intention to occupy space in another key Texas metropolitan area.
Continue reading
For businesses considering retail space for rent in top metropolitan areas such as New York, Dallas, Austin or Houston, it has never been unusual to base this decision off of intangible factors, such as instinct or the general "feel" towards the property.
Continue reading
When visiting with small business owners about how their company’s office space plays a role in the business growth and culture, there’s typically a common theme that rears it’s ugly head: too many mistakes are made in the leasing process. Owners and decision makers often make several key mistakes that can end up costing companies significantly down the line and can even cripple their growth rate. Because office rent is the second highest expense the vast majority of companies incur, doing things the wrong way leading up to signing on the dotted line can be devastating and can make any business owner go crazy!
Continue reading
One of our Houston retail brokers, Lance Gillam of UCR moodyrambin PAGE, was quoted in GlobeSt yesterday talking about current trends in Houston retail space leasing. It is interesting to see the dichotomy between class A retail space--where there can often be a waiting list--and class B and C space where vacancies abound.
Continue reading
There have been several reports recently that popular neighborhood grocery store Trader Joe's will be making its way to Houston soon, which made many locals who have visited a location in another market quite giddy. The outfit was started on the West Coast in the 1960's, and has built up a popular cult following ever since. Known for having "innovative" and hard to find foods that just so happen to also taste great, Trader Joe's was also known to be somewhat of a pioneer in its marketing efforts - putting out a newsletter in the 70's mainly about the wines and foods that were sold at the store, as well as having a line of private label products.
Continue reading
We talk a lot on TheSquareFoot about all kinds of issues that can arise when looking for office and retail space for lease, and we came across this article which does a great job of outlining some key issues specific to leasing restaurant space. Here are some of the points that hit home:
Continue reading
We've now heard rumors from several sources saying that the Galleria Houston retail space for lease currently occupied by Borders, could be the new location of hot clothing retailer H & M. The news coming out last month that all Borders locations will close nationwide, left questions as to what kind of large big name retail tenant could fill the sizable void in the Galleria left by such a large brand. We may have an answer, although it seems a little early to be sure.
Continue reading
In Houston and throughout Texas, one of the best franchises around is Texadelphia. The cheesesteaks and queso are ridiculous and the space the franchisee chooses usually fits in with the community and is a great place to grab a bite (see Rice Village, Westheimer, or Cy-Fair).
Continue reading
How's this for a traditional bank? Frost Bank opened state-of-the-art branch in Rice Village, which made for another of the more interesting new Houston commercial properties. Here's the kicker, it's not just a place for banking transactions, but can serve as an alternate location for businesses, organizations, and boards to hold special events and meetings. This kind of complex shows how cutting edge properties can diversify and get the most use out of a single location.
Continue reading
The news broke a few days ago that the Borders Bookstore chain has filed for bankruptcy and will likely see close to 400 stores close down nationwide. Houston will most likely lose it's remaining five Houston Borders locations, which will add to the large amounts of vacant Houston retail space the city has been carrying for years. Not long ago we saw another big box retailer, Circuit City, share a similar fate and some of those vacancies have yet to be filled nationwide.
Continue reading
Anchor Tenant typically refers to a large store in a retail shopping center (usually a department store or major retail outfit like HEB or Walmart) which the landlord has strategically rented space to in order to draw in large crowds and funnel them into other stores within the center. Name recognition and prestige of these large users are the appealing factors that will drive in other tenants and shoppers. Because of the value that an anchor tenant can provide the landlord as far as appeal to other smaller tenants and heavy traffic draw, discounted rental rates can often be given to these large users. It's not uncommon for an anchor tenant to reserve the right to approve the selection of a center's other tenants in order to prevent competing (and much smaller) tenants from taking away customers. That's how much value a well-respected anchor tenant, like an Apple store can bring!
Continue reading
The recession’s hit to Houston retail space has been well documented. In this recent article in the Wall Street Journal, several stats from a survey by Colliers International covering the closures of four prominent big-box retailers over the last couple of years are particularly sobering. Just over half of the surveyed properties are still vacant and the rest of them were re-leased for rents that averages almost 20% less than what the previous tenants were paying. As the article points out, the recent bankruptcies of Blockbuster and Borders will only add to the problems. One positive note is that none of the seven borders locations in Houston were on the initial chopping block so it appears that Houston retail space is holding up better than other national markets.
Continue reading
Businesses seeking to lease Houston retail space will often have to consider several factors before determining the best type of retail space for lease to fit their needs. Some retail businesses rely on "impulse purchases" while others rely on carefully planned purchases. Impulse retail will focus heavily on location and visibility, and will usually require a premium location within a shopping center, meaning higher rents. Businesses that aren't reliant on impulse purchases don't typically need to be in an incredible location with optimal visibility, although that's always important for any type of business. Access and visibility are much less important for "destination" retail, but again, will always help. Here are the different types of retail space for lease, with descriptions:
Continue reading
