Empty Retail Space

Most retail industry analysts agree that the United States is largely “over-retailed.”  As the industry evolves, less competitive retailers have been forced into bankruptcy or have downsized. As a result, there is a glut of vacant retail facing many communities. Increasingly, this retail space is found in “Greyfields” and “Ghostboxes.”  

The term greyfield has been coined to describe underperforming or declining shopping centers. These greyfields are typically older and likely have a poor tenant mix or a high vacancy rate. While the reasons for a mall’s decline vary, some common causes include population shifts and new suburban/exurban development, evolving retail formats, consumer preferences, changing demographics and failure to reinvest.

The past two decades have also seen an increasing number of retailers building 20,000 to 200,000 square foot big-box buildings. Despite the growing number of large format establishments, the changing retail landscape has had its impact on these retailers as well. The result has been the emergence of ghostboxes or empty big-box buildings. The reasons for ghostboxes vary from poor economic performance to increasing space needs of an existing big-box retailer.

In addressing greyfields and ghostboxes, some communities have found opportunities in these empty locations while other communities have struggled in filling the space due to their size. Some specific strategies include:

Excerpted from an article by Matt Kures, GIS state specialist, in the May 2003 issue of Let’s Talk Business, published by the Center for Community Economic Development at the University of Wisconsin-Extension. The complete article and references are available online at

http://www.uwex.edu/CES/cced/downtowns/ltb/lets/0503ltb.html

PDF version: http://www.uwex.edu/CES/cced/downtowns/ltb/lets/0503ltb.pdf