Chicago Area Retail Vacancy Hits Highest Point Since 2010

The Chicago-area retail vacancy rate hit 11.6 percent during the second quarter, reaching its highest point since 2010 and a half-percentage point shy of its post-recession peak. Asking rents for the region’s retail tenants dipped to an average of $18.60 per square foot per year, thanks in part to the bankruptcies of Toys R Us and Carson’s department stores, according to a CBRE quarterly report cited in Crain’s. But the report noted a growing demand for restaurants, fitness centers and grocery stores, noting a Mariano’s supermarket that opened in Crystal Lake and a new Pete’s Fresh Market in Glen Ellyn. New tenants have also swooped into former Toys R Us locations in Highland Park, Vernon Hills and Chicago’s Montclare neighborhood. Read more at The Real Deal.