Cleveland Retail Market Report

Leasing concentrates around experiential offerings and in the CBD. Overall metro vacancy will inch up in 2023, following two years of declines as a contracting labor market weighs on retail sales. Leasing downtown and in outer submarkets, however, is expected to benefit from a rise in domestic tourism in 2023. An advancing development proposal on the Lake Erie lakefront is situated to aid the area’s travel appeal if it comes to fruition. The impending completion of the new Sherwin-Williams headquarters scheduled for 2024, may also boost foot traffic in the urban core if it proves a signal for wider return-to-office policies. Cleveland has also seen an uptick in experiential businesses targeting the outer suburbs, following a lull during the pandemic. Last year, Urban Air Adventure Park signed a 65,120-square-foot lease in Stark County. Hall of Fame Village — which will be a 147,000-square-foot football-themed water park — is currently underway and expected to open in the submarket this year. These projects will encourage retailers to establish early footprints in some outer areas to benefit from rising local traffic, while the lakefront proposal could usher in the same for the urban core.