By Tricia Pitchford and Amy Senn, Mid-America Real Estate A strong regional economy continues to propel the retail real estate market in Minneapolis heading into the fall. Unemployment remains lower than the national average, though up from last year’s remarkable sub-2 percent. New jobs are being created at a nice clip. At the same time, retail real estate space is tight, with limited new construction. Well-located spaces are being re-tenanted quickly. The same is generally true for B and C locations. Rents are flat to increasing. Higher construction costs continue to hamper tenant expansion. Although the macroeconomy is slowing, consumers are proving resilient, with a large appetite (pun intended) for quick-service restaurants and personal services, in particular. Where’s the most action? Suburban trade areas are seeing most of the activity across the metro area. Maple Grove, Woodbury, Edina and Roseville are among the strongest submarkets. A couple of urban trade areas, namely the North Loop warehouse district and Northeast Minneapolis, stand out for their growing appeal as arts, entertainment and dining districts. (Yes, we have hipsters in the Twin Cities.) Generally infill and redevelopment opportunities are more time-consuming and costly to execute than ground-up development, but that’s not stopping the …
