The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex saw a total of nearly 4 million more square feet of retail space leased in 2021 compared to the year before. This map measures the overall change in occupied retail space leased in square feet from 2020 to 2021. CHANGE IN NET LEASING
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brother VJ Jain, attribute the success of their business to the support of the community, AJ Jain said. “The community was very very important,” he said. “They kept us busy and gave us support and courage to stay open.” The return to in-person shopping is something Texas-based commer- cial real estate firm Weitzman said is happening throughout the Dallas-Fort Worthmetroplex. “We’re in a much better place today [than March 2020],” Weitzman Execu- tive Vice President Michelle Caplan said during the firm’s annual forecast that was livestreamed in January. “Everyone from retailers to landlords to shoppers … have all faced enormous challenges with innovation and ingenuity. We’ve navigated risk and achieved one of the greatest market turnarounds ever.” As part of its report, Weitzman noted construction of new retail space in the region was at an all-time low in 2021, with just 640,000 square feet of new space added. That was nearly half the previous record lowof 1.2millionsquare feet built in 2012, according to Matthew Rosenfeld, Weitzman executive vice president and director of DFW broker- age. However, increased demand for retail space and rising occupancy rates are expected to help turn things around in 2022, according to the forecast. “Based on what’s in the pipeline, we expect construction to total approxi- mately 2 million square feet [in 2022],” Caplan said. “That’s more than double the 2021 total, but it remains on the con- servative side.” The Weitzman forecast also found retail occupancy was at 93.5% through- out the region at the end of 2021. That rate was the third highest total the firm has recorded for DFW, just below its previously recorded highs of nearly 94% in 2019 and almost 95% in 1981.
DENTON
MCKINNEY
ADDISON
FRISCO
CARROLLTON
Retail space leased in square feet
ALLEN
ROANOKE WESTLAKE TROPHY CLUB
HIGHLAND VILLAGE
700,001+ 600,001 to 700,000 500,001 to 600,000 400,001 to 500,000 300,001 to 400,000 200,001 to 300,000 100,001 to 200,000 1 to 100,000 0 to -100,000 less than -100,000
PLANO
MURPHY
LEWISVILLE
FLOWER MOUND
NORTHEAST FORT WORTH
WYLIE
RICHARDSON
FAR NORTH DALLAS
SACHSE
COPPELL
SOUTHLAKE
FARMERS BRANCH
COLLEYVILLE
KELLER
GARLAND ROWLETT
GRAPEVINE
NORTH RICHLAND HILLS
NORTH DALLAS
EULESS
NORTHWEST FORT WORTH
NORTHEAST DALLAS
IRVING
FORT WORTH CBD*
PARK CITIES/ OAK LAWN
WEST DALLAS
DALLAS CBD*
MESQUITE
SOUTHEAST DALLAS
SOUTHEAST FORT WORTH
SOUTHWEST DALLAS
ARLINGTON
*CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT
GRAND PRAIRIE
NOTE: AREA DESIGNATIONS WERE MADE BY TEXAS-BASED COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE FIRM WEITZMAN AND DO NOT ALWAYS MATCH CITY BOUNDARIES. ADDITIONALLY, SOME OF THE AREA DESIGNATIONS SHOWN INCLUDE MULTIPLE CITIES.
SOUTHWEST FORT WORTH
DESOTO LANCASTER
HURST
CEDAR HILL
DUNCANVILLE
MAP NOT TO SCALE N
SOURCE: WEITZMAN/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
BEDFORD
The firm’s data is based onmore than 1,400 shopping centers totaling more than 200 million square feet of retail space across themetroplex. Weitzman’s forecast for this year expects retail occu- pancy to increase to 95%. The retail leasing market was also the third strongest the firm has seen in 22 years, according Rosenfeld. “This is [a] complete reversal from 2020, when pandemic-related clo- sures resulted in vacancy jumping by more than 4 million square feet,” Rosenfeld said at the January event. “Now, our numbers [going into 2022] look remarkably like those of pre-pan- demic 2019—one of the best years ever for our retail market.” Adaptinglocally Lori Walker, the Flower Mound
Chamber of Commerce president, said the pandemic has exacerbated issues, such as staffing shortages and supply chain concerns for local retailers. “Everyone has a ‘help wanted’ sign that is hung,” Walker said. “We’re going to feel that issue, and it is across the board of every profession.” The Flower Mound Chamber of Commerce has more than 600 mem- bers from businesses from Lewisville, Flower Mound, Highland Village and other surrounding cities. Restaurants and retailers had tomake major adjustments once people were sent home in the early days of the pan- demic. Many of those changes have stayed two years later, Walker said. Highland Village restaurant Bis- tecca shifted from a dine-in Italian steakhouse to offering a drive-thru
curbside dining option, Walker said. The new options allowed the business to stay open. As for the worker shortage, Walker said she suspects the need for employees is related to the access to more flexible work environments and schedules that have become available during the pandemic, including work- ing from home. That shift in work environments is also being incorporated into the design of new apartments and town- homes, according to Matt Enzler, a senior managing director with multi- family development company Tram- mell Crow Residential. The company has built multifamily developments in Plano, Richardson, Flower Mound, Fort Worth and other areas throughout the metroplex.
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