Retail Real Estate Report

The retail market continues to be active in several sectors throughout Topeka while a few retailers are aggressively expanding. The sectors that continue to see activity are the West and SW sectors of the market. There are several new construction sites that will see new retailers open by Q3 or the beginning of Q4. Rates have not increased much in these sectors, but we continue to have activity.

Downtown Retail

Downtown retail has not fully recovered from Covid. There continues to be several vacancies in the downtown sector and several retailers have closed. Similar to those looking for office space, parking availability is critical for downtown retailers that want easy, free and accessible parking for their customers.

Quick Service Restaurants

Quick Service Restaurants or QSR’s lead the pack on trying to find locations. With less seating, new floor plans and new operating procedures, QSR’s have changed their strategies due to the inability to find enough employees willing to work and the desire to have a driveup window. Properties that have the ability for a drive-up window are in high demand. Not all QSR’s will have indoor seating and instead offer a carryout or drive-thru experience.

Retail Property Investors

There continues to be a high demand from retail investors looking to purchase property. The increase in interest rates barely slowed down investors’ interest in purchasing opportunities. More investors are looking for the “value add” properties. If a property is priced correctly, we see multiple offers from local, regional, and national investors. Some will purchase the property, sight unseen. True triple net investment properties continue to be in high demand. With the increase in the costs of goods sold, higher wages, staffing challenges and the increase in real estate taxes, local and regional retailers will have to make some hard decisions as to the future of their business. Many are adapting to new ways of doing retail business. TK