Midwest

By Mandi Backhaus-Barr, The Lerner Company As they say, when one door closes, another one opens, and the same is true in commercial real estate. In 2025, the Omaha market experienced a plethora of activity, from store closures to quick backfills, and numerous new developments either announced, commenced or completed. Omaha’s market continues to demonstrate strong momentum, showing little sign of slowing down.  This strength was reinforced when the metro-area population recently surpassed the 1 million mark, a milestone that appears to carry more weight with retailers than slightly lower population figures. As a result, the market has responded positively, with year-over-year asking rents increasing by 5.4 percent. Despite rapid growth and development across the city, Omaha’s core market fundamentals remain solid.  From a retail standpoint, we are seeing retailers continue to test new formats and refine their store footprints, while a recent wave of international brands has begun entering the U.S. market, signaling a new level of global interest and underscoring the growing appeal of well-positioned retail environments.  Additionally, the consumer is still spending, just differently. Beauty, footwear and apparel are categories with strong momentum. The trend of mid-tier retailers being squeezed into an increasingly polarized market, where value-focused …