The foreclosure actions affecting two Northern Colorado shopping malls — The Promenade Shops at Centerra and Foothills in Fort Collins — are not a foreshadowing of things to come in the region, unless you’re in the mall business.
Ryan Schaefer, CEO of NAI Affinity commercial real estate agency in Northern Colorado, provided that assessment during a forecast of the commercial real estate market in the region during BizWest’s Northern Colorado Real Estate Summit on Wednesday.
“There will be some (foreclosures), but percentage-wise it will be relatively minor,” he said in response to a question.
The foreclosures in recent months of two of the region’s largest shopping centers drew the attention of the commercial market, but as Schaefer noted, the problem is not unique to Northern Colorado.
“It’s about demographics. We have too many malls in the United States, and those suffering most are too large for their markets,” he said.
Citing household-penetration numbers, he said that most successful malls need high-income households numbering 15,000 to 20,000 within 5 miles to be successful. Some have upwards of 50,000 high-income households in close proximity. Foothills has about 10,000 high-income households in the sweet spot nearby, he said. Read more
