There is a very interesting front page NYT article on the Big Apple’s damaged Retail sector. Some of the data points were quite surprising:
• Manhattan’s vacancy rate is 6.5%, and is expected to surpass 10% sometime next year;
• The vacancy rate is now the highest since the early 1990s;
• In Soho, 1 in 10 stores are empty;
• In Brooklyn and Queens, the overall vacancy rate is 7-10%;
• By the end of 2009, the expected vacancy rate for the Outer Boroughs is 12-15%;
• In some of the worst hit neighborhoods, vacancies range from 25-40%;
• Store closings have hit NYC tax base by 3%, lowering it from over $4.3 billion to $4.15B.
Not a surprise, but shocking nonetheless
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Graphic courtesy of NYT
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Source:
Stores Go Dark Where Buyers Once Roamed
CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY
NYT July 20, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/nyregion/21vacancies.html
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