Retail’s Losses are Other’s Gains

 The retail and hospitality sector have struggled throughout the pandemic, as brick-and-mortar retail suffers from shelter-in-place mandates and travel restrictions keep hotel occupancy in the low double-digits.
Retail projects that have gained investor traction are for essential businesses, as evidenced by high prices paid for a pair of Home Depot-anchored centers in North OC last year (see listing, page 25).
Other top sales for retail properties in 2020 involved investors planning to rework their just-bought properties into healthcare and multifamily projects.
Last month’s mega-office lease for Anduril Industries Inc. took another bite out of the retail sector, as a huge food hall once planned for the Costa Mesa campus has been scrapped.
Expect an increase in e-commerce adoption from big-box retailers in the future.  
“Companies like Lowes, Home Depot and Costco will start doing more business out of warehouses,” said Colliers Senior Executive Vice President Clyde Stauff.