Real Estate By Trey Hopkins, McGraw Realtors; with support from Curt Roberts, Julie Buxton and Gannon Brown of McGraw Realtors
Retail When COVID-19 forced shutdowns around the world, many saw this as the death knell to a brick-and-mortar retail sector that was already losing ground to e-commerce pre-pandemic. To be sure, bank and retail pharmacy sites have remained largely dormant in 2021 with the massive shift to online banking and prescription services.
The high occupancy rate has meant a slowdown in leasing activity in the sector with retail leasing activity falling, “15% compared to the five-year average in Tulsa,” which is significantly better than the national average decline of around 36%. Construction through the third quarter has slowed, with most new construction coming in the form of build-to-suit retail and restaurant projects.
However, Tulsa’s retail market overall is doing relatively well, with a 95% occupancy rate and retail sales on the rise. According to CoStar data, once the initial shock of the pandemic began to fade, retail sales have rebounded and are trending above pre-pandemic levels.
Curt Roberts with McGraw Realtors keyed in on this trend as being a significant departure from past market trends as new construction favors smaller, build-to-suit pad sites over big box stores — the latter seeing new construction remain dormant in the wake of the pandemic.
78
|
V I S I O N T U L S A 2 0 22 tulsacouncil.org
Roberts also noted that vacancy in big box retail space has been filled by the burgeoning medical marijuana industry and its need for large, open space for its operations. The CoStar market report noted that, “Prior to the recession, investment activity accelerated, and annual volume averaged close to $250 million over the past five years.” Though one would expect the prolonged pandemic and recession to cool investment, the report continues, “Despite deteriorating conditions in the retail segment, Tulsa logged the best year for investment on record at $326 million.” CONTINUED ON P. 80
