How Creativity and Collaboration Turn Change into Opportunity

We all know the big box retail landscape is changing. Traditional anchor store malls are quickly becoming a thing of the past. In fact, regional mall vacancy rates were at their highest in the first quarter of this year since 2012.

It’s not just in-line stores that are downsizing either — it’s anchor stores, too. More and more, large brands are downsizing to adjust to the shift in how consumers obtain goods and services. But that doesn’t mean these areas have run their course. Opportunities still abound.

All it takes is a bit of creativity and collaboration to pave the way for the future. At Cushman & Wakefield | CRESCO Real Estate, bringing these to the table is what we do best.

Recently, our firm represented Sears with the sale of its 23-acre Richmond Town Square location, which had been closed since early 2017. Led by CRESCO broker Eliot Kijewski, the transaction was completed in early October this year with a final sale value of $1.8 million for the structure, land, and parking.

The Richmond Town Square Sears location is the fourth we’ve sold as part of Sears’ overall restructuring strategy across the country. However, our service didn’t end with the sale alone.

We collaborated with the City of Richmond Heights to reimagine the space for the future, identifying opportunities for new development that were missing from the city. Now zoned for mix-use, the firm that now owns the site is planning a $70 development that will bring in a 375-unit luxury apartment building, a 98-room hotel, a restaurant, and additional retail.

This is one example of how change in the commercial real estate space can become an opportunity — even one with far-reaching benefits not only to consumers, but to the communities that are home to consumers and the commercial outlets that support them.

Moreover, this is just one example of how Cushman & Wakefield | CRESCO Real Estate is helping major commercial and industrial brands execute on their real estate strategy. We have worked with many national brands in both the sale of commercial real estate as well as purchasing and leasing new properties.