Central Florida retail is alive, well and growing, thanks in large part to Florida’s continuing resilience to the nation’s economic challenges. Thousands of people are moving to the state each week, the Orlando area’s economy continues to diversify beyond tourism and residents continue to show confidence with their retail spending. That said, there are significant challenges facing new retail developments, due to the cost of construction and other inflationary pressures. We expect this to be a major issue for the rest of this year, and it will require thoughtful planning for everyone involved in these projects. As we look at the remainder of 2023, we see two big takeaways: • For brick-and-mortar retail, it’s important for developers and owners to bring in concepts that are new and fresh. In some cases, this involves established retailers getting creative with their spaces, like what Macy’s is doing with its new Market by Macy’s concept, which uses a smaller footprint than traditional Macy’s stores. • To make new retail developments happen, developers, landlords and tenants need to be inventive in how they structure deals, whether it’s sharing in construction cost overages or giving tenants more time to get their spaces ready. With that …
