An Update on the Houston Retail Market and a Look at How Far We've Come

The latest report on Houston's retail market says that retail expansion is slowing in a tight market. The Houston Chronicle reports that occupancy is high.
http://www.chron.com/business/bizfeed/article/Houston-retail-expansion-slows-in-tight-market-11257309.php

I've watched Houston grow from a young adult to a well established adult over the years I've been here. When I arrived in about 1989, the Galleria and Rice Village were the places to shop inside the Loop and the freeways were still quick to navigate.  When they became congested, I saw gridlock as a sign of economic progress.

Same with parking garages. I started working in downtown in 2007 before the second wave of downtown vitality began and when GreenStreet and Discovery Green Park were just being visualized. The fall out in the economy that started in that time period slowed the new wave. But there was one way in particular that I knew downtown had turned. Parking garages. I went into parking garages and asked what their occupancy was.  When those empty garages filled up, that meant office buildings were filled up and that meant people needed more places to live. With the help of city incentives, downtown now has a multitude of high rises from which to choose and that has brought more retail to what used to be called a downtown ghost town in the 90's.

Houston's significant population growth in the last ten years also has fueled business and home development outside downtown and the Loop. In a sprawling metropolis that once was known for its cars and big, long highways, Houston has evolved into a city where people now want a quick trip to the store just a walk to the store. So it makes sense: new businesses create a need for nearby, new homes and need new homes create a need for retail.

The east side of Houston is a current example. While there is still not a plethera of restaurants or a major grocery store there, the increasing number of townhomes and apartments are creating the demand for big box retail or for what I like to call "mixed box" retail  (instead of mixed use). That's when stores such as HEB and WalMart include McDonalds, Subway, nail salons and pharmacys in their stores. Home deliveries may be changing the way Americans buy their groceries and other goods, but you still can't get a manicure in the mail!

http://www.chron.com/business/bizfeed/article/Houston-retail-expansion-slows-in-tight-market-11257309.php