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The retail development
scene in Phoenix is more
active now than since
before the recession
By Steve Bergsman
Taking flight
again
T
he retail real estate marketplace in the Phoenix metro area has not been
this healthy since before the recession. Indeed, nearly 5 million square
feet of gross leasing activity took place here last year, surpassing the previous
year's total, according to CBRE. In addition, completions in 2016 reached
1.3 million square feet — a six-year high. And things have not slowed. For
this recent first quarter alone, Colliers International reports some 700,000
square feet of net absorption in this area.
Two factors are driving the market: one traditional, and the other
something fairly new: Phoenix was one of the hardest-hit cities during
the recession, because a tremendous amount of retail construction was
anticipating a residential housing boom that never did materialize. That
S I T E S & C I T I E S
T H E P L AC E S W H E R E R E TA I L D E V E LO P M E N T I S H OT
BROKER KENNE TH KR ASNOW
IS BE T TING ON MIAMI
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GLOBAL RE TAIL DE VELOPMENT
HAS PICKED UP
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