When the pandemic hit last March and online retail purchases began to soar, some experts left brick-and-mortar retail for dead.
Indeed, numerous major national brands including J.C. Penney, Neiman Marcus and the parent companies of Ann Taylor and Men’s Wearhouse filed for bankruptcy and closed a significant number of stores.
Amid that backdrop, U.S. malls have also taken a beating, but Westfarms in West Hartford seems to be an outlier.
In fact, the 1.3 million-square-foot mall’s occupancy rate prior to and throughout the pandemic has remained at 95% and it was even able to add new retailers over the last year, despite being forced to close for two months in the spring of 2020.
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After plunging in 2020, central Ohio retail is climbing out of its pandemic hole.
Foot traffic is rising, leasing is up, and new stores are opening throughout the Columbus area, but plenty of clouds remain, especially for enclosed malls and older strip centers in central Ohio, which has more than twice the retail space of the U.S. average.
“A year ago, I definitely thought I was heading into what I thought would be the worst part of my career,” says David Lukes, CEO of SITE Centers, the Beachwood-based firm that owns or co-owns several premium Columbus shopping centers including Lennox Town Center, Polaris Towne Center, Sun Center and Easton Market. “Leasing activity now is the highest I’ve ever seen it. This is the most shocking turnaround I’ve ever seen.”