A new WinCo grocery store in Layton is being built. Harmons is building not one, but two stores, in Farmington and downtown Salt Lake City. Specialty grocer Sunflower Farmers Market is opening a Salt Lake City location. And home furnishings chain Crate & Barrel has announced its first Utah store. For such challenging times, Utah’s commercial real estate sector — the retail category in particular — is showing some strong signs of life. Utah has attracted so many expansions, in fact, that in the retail sector some commercial brokers wonder if things are getting a bit crowded in some categories.
Like the retail sector, Utah’s industrial market is seeing a number of expansions. According to data from CB Richard Ellis, industrial leasing activity — which includes the sale and leasing of buildings such as distribution facilities and warehouses — was up by nearly one-third, compared with 2009. That’s a level not seen since the recession began in late 2007. In fact, demand is high enough and vacancies low enough to spur construction of more than 600,000 square feet of industrial space, another positive sign.
There are some positive signs in the office sector, as well, said Gary Mangum, managing director of Coldwell Banker Commercial. Speculative development is occurring for the first time in several years, including a 700,000-square-foot building near Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. That’s a major shift, given the fact that financing remains hard to come by. Salt Lake Tribune
