Detroit Retail Market Report

Redevelopment initiatives bolster outlook. Detroit’s major mixed-use undertakings — Cadillac Square, the $3 billion New Center collaboration and Bedrock’s Hudson’s Building — are advancing in 2025, drawing retailers like Apple back to downtown and expanding the pool of potential customers. Yet elevated construction costs and financing hurdles are keeping retail completions to roughly 247,000 square feet this year, preserving the tight conditions that pushed multi-tenant vacancy below 3 percent in 2024. Demand remains strong among grocery, fitness and dining tenants in Macomb and Southfield. Elsewhere, the Pointes, North Oakland and West Wayne each saw more than 5 percent rent growth last year, supported by low multifamily vacancy and minimal construction pipelines. Aided by recent population growth, these dynamics sustain occupancy and spur long-term investment in Detroit.