Last year, the Pike Street retail corridor had one of the highest rates of rent growth in the United States and is one of the most affordable prime urban retail corridors on a per square foot rent basis, according to a new report from JLL, City Retail: Understanding Seattle’s Prime Urban Corridors.
The Pike Street corridor is booming with plenty of shopping and restaurants. The corridor is positioned between two key business zones and serves traditional office workers in the central business district as well as people in the technology sector in South Lake Union, where Amazon continues to grow its presence among neighbors Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Allen Institute, Google and Facebook. According to the report, these prime urban corridors serve as one of the best places to communicate a brand message, since they are often one of the top tourist destinations of a city.
The average asking prime retail rent for the Pike Street corridor was $65 per square foot last year, with annual rent growth of 18.2 percent. The only two markets that were more affordable in terms of prime urban retail corridors, were Wicker Park in Chicago and Market East in Philadelphia. Wicker Park is a top food destination and asks only $55 per square foot with annual rent growth of 4.5 percent. A once vacant lot and home to failed malls, Market East asks $50 per square foot with annual rent growth of 25 percent— the most affordable prime urban retail corridor of all.
Of the top 10 list of the most affordable corridors, nearly half of them were Bay Area corridors. The area accounts for four of the most affordable corridors, The Marina in San Francisco, University Avenue in Palo Alto, Hayes Valley in San Francisco and Filmore also in San Francisco. The Marina, which came in fifth, offers a blend of retail and restaurants, with emphasis on boutique fitness studios and athleisure. Asking rent is $85 per square foot, only $20 more than the Pike Street corridor. University Avenue came in just behind The Marina. The area has non-chain boutiques and home goods stores with asking rents of $90 per square foot and annual rent growth of 7.9 percent. Hayes Valley ties University Avenue in average asking rent but has an annual rent growth of 4.7 percent. Lastly, in the Bay Area, the luxury laden retail corridor Fillmore has an average asking rent of $115 per square foot and an annual rent growth of 13.6 percent.
Other markets with affordable retail corridors include Fulton Market in Chicago, Design District in Miami and Metro Center in Washington, D.C.
