By Gabriela Rico | AZ Daily Star
Empty grocery stores and former big box retail spots could become six-story apartments with drive-thru restaurants and coffee shops dotting the parking lots, as landlords rethink new tenants for vacant space around Tucson.
Interest in encouraging the development of new housing by both the state and city has created a new opportunity for owners of shopping centers as national retailers scale back.
“If you own a retail building in Tucson’s urban core, you may be sitting on more value than you realize,” Rob Tomlinson, a retail specialist with commercial brokerage firm Picor, notes in his Trend Report. “Two converging forces — skyrocketing construction costs and sweeping new zoning flexibility — are quietly setting the stage for a dramatic revaluation of existing retail properties over the next decade.
