By William McDonough, vice president, Weitzman San Antonio’s retail market is reporting record-high occupancy as it continues its longest-ever streak of balanced supply and demand. With a new high of 95.2 percent, the Alamo City retail market has now posted healthy occupancy rates of 90 percent or higher for 14 years straight. The occupancy rate is based on Weitzman’s review of a total San Antonio retail inventory of approximately 49 million square feet of retail space in multi-tenant shopping centers with 25,000 square feet or more. Occupancy remains high due to stable tenant retention and strong demand for well-located vacancies. For example, shortly after Conn’s announced in mid-2024 that it planned to close its area stores, discount apparel retailer Burlington announced its plans to backfill three of the nine stores slated for closure. The market is also reporting an increase in new construction, but the deliveries overall have actually increased occupancy due to the fact that they are primarily for anchor stores and largely preleased shop space. Last year, the market did see new vacancies created due to the chain-wide failures of Conn’s, Big Lots, American Freight Furniture and 99 Cents Only. But in a tight market like San Antonio’s, …
