Nearly 11 million square feet of project in the works

The demand from retailers for new retail projects in Calgary has reached a new and unprecedented level, says a new report by Colliers International.
The commercial real estate firm said developers are responding to the strong retailer interest as 42 projects comprising nearly 10.9 million square feet are in the planning, permitting or construction stage.
“The 2012 Calgary retail market can best be described as robust,” said the report.
“We expect the influx of American and international retailers to the Calgary market to continue at a strong pace resulting in strong demand for the limited vacancies and continuing to encourage the development industry to bring on new projects.”
Overall, retail vacancy has remained stable, climbing from 1.93 per cent in the spring of this year to 1.99 per cent in the fall.
“Retail opportunities in Calgary remain very limited and those opportunities in more desirable centres continue to command a premium,” said Colliers.
One of those new developments is Strategic Group’s 20/20 project in Mission which will add about 20,000 square feet of retail space to the market by 2013.
“With retail vacancy rates as low as two per cent, and one of the fastest growing economies in the country, Calgary continues to attract strong interest from Canadian and American businesses who want to sell to the Calgary consumer,” said Ellisa Asaria, retail leasing associate with the Strategic Group. “In addition, because of Calgary’s high growth rate and consistently strong retail sales, many national and eastern franchises are looking to enter the Calgary market.
“We expect continued strength in the Calgary retail market as well as very low vacancy rates.”
The 20/20 project on 4th Street S.W., which is a 140,000-square-foot development with five floors of office space, is expected to be home to several unique retail stores and will be anchored by a restaurant and a financial institution.
KubasPrimedia forecasts retail sales in the Calgary region will surpass $28 billion annually by next year.
The Retail Sales Outlook Canada Q3 2012 report forecasts sales in the Calgary census metropolitan area to jump by 8.9 per cent this year to $26.3 billion and another 8.5 per cent hike in 2013 to $28.6 billion.
In Alberta, the report is forecasting sales to increase by 8.6 per cent this year to $69.5 billion and by another 8.2 per cent in 2013 to $75.2 billion.
In 2011, the Calgary CMA saw annual retail sales growth of 7.2 per cent while Alberta experienced 6.9 per cent growth.