April 13, 2010

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Seeing Red
Fairwood's Commercial District
Continues to Feel Economic Downturn

While we're all seeing red in terms of vacancies and shopping options at the Fairwood Shopping Center, you can bet that shopping center owners wish they could make announcements of new deals and new tenants.

We also were expecting to hear news of tenants on board last quarter, but the ink on contracts seem to be far from dry.

Latest Casualties
Hollywood Video's announcement and final closure ended up being a fairly long goodbye, and the doors were finally closed the week of March 29.

Prior to Hollywood Video's closure, the Fairwood Shopping Center also recently lost lender Moneytree and Fairwood Sun Spot Tanning Salon, behind Starbucks. Moneytree was located near anchor store Safeway.

With the three vacancies and the loss of anchor stores QFC and Big Lots, the total square footage now available amounts to just over a 30 percent vacancy rate.

Rumors continue that fitness chain Snap Fitness has plans to fill empty space, and efforts on our part to receive confirmation have been stalled. After unanswered calls to both corporate and local centers, this lead is still a big question mark.

Existing Businesses Innovate
Despite the vacancy rate, local business that depend on Fairwood patrons continue to innovate and find areas to create value, which in turn, they hope will generate additional business. For example, restaurant Golden Peacock recently held a Community Performance to celebrate the Chinese New Year, Fairwood Pet Center is holding a Family Fun Day this month, and a local salon is now offering barber services.

Fairwood Square Opens Up
While Fairwood Shopping Center continues to struggle to hold onto tenants, things are also changing at nearby Fairwood Square.

This strip mall was almost fully occupied until recently. FasTan, another tanning salon, recently closed its doors, opening up vacant spaces on both sides of Ken's Cleaners.

Community Input May Help
Currently in the development stage, Fairwood Community News is working on a survey that will capture market data to hopefully encourage ambitious entrepreneurs to take an educated leap. We will also share this information to both center's owners so they may use the data to market to their contacts. The critical element in the mix is that local consumers participate with their valuable input.

Look for an announcement and link to that survey soon. You'll enjoy answering the questions we ask of you. You'll also get to dream a bit!

The survey should be available this month, so watch for its launch. Please also encourage your network to take a moment to respond. We want to hear from you, too!