3.7 Million SF of New Houston Retail Space Ringing Up in 2015

HOUSTON (Wulfe & Co.) – Wulfe & Co. projects just over 3.7 million sf of new retail shopping center space will be built and opened in the greater Houston area this year. According to the locally based real estate firm’s 22nd annual retail survey, this represents a 56 percent increase over the previous years’ 2.37 million sf.

Supermarkets will dominate new retail construction, representing 43 percent of the year’s growth. Thirty-two new stores are planned. HEB will open seven; Kroger will open four and expand two; Walmart will open four neighborhood market stores; Whole Foods and Sprouts will each add two; Fiesta and Trader Joe’s will each open one; and relative newcomer ALDI will add eleven 18,000-sf stores to the market.

The survey also indicated that there will be a new 180,000-sf Walmart Superstore, 165,000-sf Gallery Furniture and a Lowe’s home improvement center. There will also be five new theaters, three new Academy stores and two new Ross stores.

“With this high activity of new retail growth, we project that higher retail occupancy rates will exceed a seldom achieved rate of 92 percent this year," said Wulfe & Co. CEO Ed Wulfe. "Retail rental rates will also continue to increase driven by limited availability of shopping center space, higher land costs and higher construction costs for materials and labor to build or remodel new retail facilities."