West Palm Beach Retail Market Report

Retailers follow population surge as leasing trends shift. An influx of established professionals and wealthy retirees is expected to keep the metro among the five fastest-growing major markets this year, fueling one of the nation’s strongest increases in retail sales. Concentrated growth in downtown Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach, where retail vacancy also held firm last year, should sustain tenant demand, supported by over 600,000 square feet of recently opened, well-leased office space. Tourism-heavy areas like Downtown Boca Raton may lag, though the metro’s triple-digit basis-point rise in hotel occupancy last year could aid retail leasing should this trend hold. New mixed-use projects will also draw residents and businesses. In Delray Beach, the soon-to-open Sundy Village and the expanding Atlantic Crossing will enhance the area’s appeal. Boca Raton is following suit, with the former Office Depot headquarters slated for redevelopment. A proposed downtown City Hall project with 2.5 million square feet of mixed-use space would also bolster future demand for retail space.