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Updated: November 11, 2019 The Real Deal

Hartford area’s retail market steady amid online-shopping fears

Photo | HBJ File Buybuy Baby is one of several retailers that debuted in West Hartford over the last year. The town now holds Greater Hartford’s fourth-lowest retail vacancy rate.
By Joe Cooper

The Greater Hartford retail market has been mostly stable over the last year, despite concerns that brick-and-mortar stores are dying in the face of online competitors.

New data shows the Hartford area’s retail vacancy rate modestly increased over the last year from 10.6 percent to 10.8 percent.

Meantime, the region’s overall retail footprint grew by a meager 166,300 square feet to 37.6 million square feet, which is mainly attributed to a few new developments and an increasing number of retail properties being converted into mixed-use and residential space, according to a recent study authored by Massachusetts real estate firm KeyPoint Partners Inc.

The report examines market supply, vacancy and retail activity, among other measures, in 26 towns and cities for the year ending Aug. 2019.

West Hartford stood out as one of the region’s most active retail communities in terms of new developments or tenants taking over vacant space.

In August, the town welcomed the debut of Target’s first Connecticut small-format store in the Bishops Corner shopping center. The now 59,700-square-foot space was formerly a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Store and Adams Supermarket.

Specialty retailer Cost Plus World Market last fall also opened its third Connecticut store in Corbin’s Corner retail center, just months after adding a new store in The Manchester Collection plaza. A buybuy Baby furniture and toy store also opened in Corbin’s Corner last year, occupying space adjacent to World Market.

The new retailers, among others, helped West Hartford significantly lower its retail vacancy rate to 6.5 percent. That ranks as Greater Hartford’s fourth lowest retail vacancy rate; the year prior West Hartford was ranked No. 12.

Manchester, which has the region’s largest retail footprint with more than 5.4 million square feet, also saw active retail development in 2018-19.

In addition to World Market, Manchester added national superstore retailer At Home in the Burr Corners plaza, and CVS opened a new 14,600-square-foot store on Main Street.

Other towns and cities, however, didn’t fare as well.

Hartford’s retail vacancy rate climbed the most last year from 13 percent to 14.3 percent, although the city has the lowest inventory in the region and has little impact on Greater Hartford’s overall market, Keypoint said.

Vernon jumped from ninth to fourth this year in highest retail vacancy rate (15.3 percent) due in part to Kmart closing its 84,200-square-foot store in town. It marked the region’s second-largest store closure last year.

Wethersfield’s vacancy rate increased to 12.1 percent after a Fallas women’s clothing store closed on the Berlin Turnpike, marking the third largest retail departure in the last year.

Keypoint says Greater Hartford’s market last year didn’t feel the effects as much as the rest of the country of the continuing shift toward online purchasing at the expense of brick-and-mortar retail.

Nationally, the number of retail stores closing in 2019 has already surpassed 2018 totals.

“It should be comforting to know that in Greater Hartford the number of occupied tenants actually experienced a nominal gain this year,” the study said.

Deal Roundup

Personal injury law firm Trantolo & Trantolo has moved its Hartford office from 50 Russ St. to the Capitol Place building at 21 Oak St., suite 605.

The more than 80-year-old firm said it added several new trial attorneys and additional staff to support its expansion into a larger, 7,000-square-foot space.

Its new office has a multi-media center, conference rooms, kitchen facilities and an associated parking garage for staff.

• • •

A pair of therapy centers have leased space in an office building on Silas Deane Highway in Wethersfield.

Physical therapy clinic Pedia Flex LLC will occupy 1,751 square feet and occupational-therapist Advanced Therapy Solutions has signed for 2,900 square feet at 936 Silas Deane Highway.

Some 4,800 square feet remains available on the third floor.

Global real estate firm Colliers International brokered the leases.

Joe Cooper is HBJ’s web editor and real estate writer. He pens “The Real Deal” column about Greater Hartford’s commercial real estate industry.

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