Excerpted from Jax Daily Record story.
The closing of the Winn-Dixie and Harveys stores did not send shock waves through the local market, said Carrie Smith, managing director of commercial real estate broker Franklin Street.
She said owners of the soon-vacant larger boxes should have little problem backfilling them.
“If I were involved in the leasing, I would not be discouraged at all,” Smith said. “Probably the low-hanging fruit is going to be another grocer. How they fit into the boxes I don’t know, but you have an opportunity for somebody in the organics space, particularly at the Baymeadows and Blanding sites. The other two sites you could backfill with discount grocers, like Sav-A-Lot.”
Smith said the Dunn Avenue and Edgewood locations could also be candidates for dividing the space for junior anchors such as Five Below and Dollar Tree.
“I wasn’t discouraged at all about this being some issue in the industry,” Smith said. “I think it opens up more opportunities than anything. I was talking to one of the Winn-Dixie (location) owners this morning and he already has a backup plan.”
Smith said retail center owners tend to be proactive, particularly when they have tenants experiencing financial difficulties. Even though the announced closing of six big-box retail locations within a few days is out of the ordinary, she’s confident the local market can absorb the space.
“I think it’s unusual for that much inventory to hit the market in one week, but it really is not a shock to anyone in our industry,” Smith said.
“If you are a potential tenant you are already in conversations with the owners to backfill that space,” she said.
For full story, visit https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/slew-of-store-closings-to-challenge-market
