Report: Paramus Retail Corridors Have Above Average Vacancy Rate

When compared with other retail corridors in the Northern and Central New Jersey Paramus’ Route 4 is considered slightly above average while Paramus’ Route 17 is well above average when it comes to vacancy rates, as per a study done by The Goldstein Group.

According to the Paramus-based Goldstein Group’s end of year survey vacancy rates are “status quo”  with very little change from 2011 to 2012. The average vacancy rate among the corridors surveyed is 7.8 percent.

Paramus’ Route 4 is just slightly above that at 8.3 percent while Route 17 Paramus has a vacancy rate of 11.4 which puts that retail corridor among the weaker of those surveyed. The survey looked at 22 retail corridors in the northern and central parts of the state, roughly 4,250 properties and more than 98 million square feet of retail space.

Among those with the lowest vacancy rates include Route 3-Clifton (2.2 percent) and Route 17/RochellePark-Rutherford (2.3 percent). Route 18 East Brunswick the highest with 18.2 percent vacancy rate.

The group reports that the market still appears to continue its slow recovery from the downtown that hit in 2008 and 2009.  Improvement does continue as the average vacancy rate is down from 8.2 percent in July 2009, the highest peak almost double what it was in January 2008 when the average vacancy rate was 4.1, according to figures released in the report.

Goldstein Group’s President Chuck Lanyard cites that improvement continues but “it is still a ‘tenants’ market. “Opportunistic retailers are leasing at attractive rental rates and securing locations by taking advantage of market conditions,” said Lanyard in a release.

“The stronger submarkets saw a flurry of leasing activity in 2012 with several having little remaining space available in such corridors as the Paramus Route 4 and Clifton Area Route 3 markets. Larger blocks of space have been absorbed in these markets,” said Lanyard.

Lanyard also points out a new mix of established retailers are coming into New Jersey  such as Uniqlo which just opened its doors at Paramus’ Garden State Plaza last September.  Others new to the state include Pei Wei, PGA Golf Store and Chick-fil-A, all which are now open in Paramus.

The report  also points out retailers such as Sixth Avenue Electronics which have left vacancies in certain markets. In Paramus, Sixth Avenue Electronics left behind two vacant locations when the retail chain shut its doors. The Route 4 location became an auto dealership and the Route 17 location is still vacant.

Lanyard calls the recovery of the retail market continuing at “a slow but steady pace with solid growth in leasing activity and decreasing vacancies.”  He forsees that growth will continue in 2013 “as much of the recession’s on the retail marketplace is appearing to be behind us.”

See the chart below to see how Paramus compares with other retail corridors in North and Central New Jersey.