KeyPoint Partners Report Points to New Development
Comprehensive Eastern MA report includes ten-year grocery study
BURLINGTON, MA (today)—KeyPoint Partners, LLC has released The KeyPoint Report for Eastern Massachusetts/Greater Boston 2014, Bob Sheehan, Vice President of Research, announced today. This comprehensive retail real estate Report examines supply, occupancy, absorption, and retailer expansion and contraction for virtually every retail property in the region. This year’s Report features a special section: a ten-year historical perspective on the grocery real estate landscape from 2004 to the present.
(Click here to download report.)
“There’s no question that the regional retail real estate landscape is adjusting to the continued popularity of internet retailing,” Sheehan says. “However, a number of exciting projects are in the planning stages or have recently opened, such as MarketStreet Lynnfield, Assembly Row in Somerville, and The Street in Chestnut Hill, while 3rd Ave. in Burlington and University Station in Westwood represent projects that shoppers can look forward to in the near future. This gives us confidence that brick-and-mortar retail is here to stay.”
According to the Report, total retail space for the region was 191.6 million square feet. Occupancy was down somewhat, which brought the vacancy rate to 8.5% from 7.8% a year ago, but this was balanced by positive absorption, attributable in part to new development. Walmart led retailers in square feet of expansion in the region, adding 340,000 square feet, while Party City, with its acquisition of iParty, ranked first in new store count, adding 24 units. Other retailers high in the expansion ranks include Whole Foods and Subway.
“Eating Places topped the rankings in both new square footage and store count,” Sheehan says. The Medical and Dental Services category moved into the top 10, as this use has become a reasonable replacement for vacant units when traditional retail prospects are limited, he notes.
The special section of the Report compares the increase in square footage of grocery stores, dollar stores, and wholesales clubs in the region since 2004.
The Report is based on KeyPoint Partners’ GRIIDTM, a powerful source of retail market knowledge that maintains detailed information on virtually every retail property in key New England markets. The Eastern Massachusetts Report includes 189 cities and towns, representing more than 3,500 square miles (44% of Massachusetts’ land area) and approximately 5 million people (76% of the state population).
The complete KeyPoint Report can be accessed here or at at KeyPointPartners.com. The KeyPoint Reports for Southern New Hampshire and Greater Hartford, Connecticut will follow shortly. For more information about KeyPoint Partners’ retail research capabilities and the KeyPoint GRIIDTM contact Bob Sheehan, Vice President of Research, at BSheehan@KeyPointPartners.com or at 781.418.6248.
