|
Towle's office market survey covers only those buildings that are over 30,000 square feet in total
<br /> area. Like the business center market, this market is non-existent in Mounds View. The total
<br /> number of buildings in the northeast sector is 21, comprised of 1,396,032 square feet, with a
<br /> moderate vacancy level at 10.1%. The northwest sector has only 12 building with a total of
<br /> 931,879 square feet of area and a fairly high vacancy rate of 17.1%. The need for this type of
<br /> office building decreases the further the subject is from the Minneapolis-St. Paul core. That is
<br /> not saying all office should be eliminated as an option for the subject area, but the need for a
<br /> large high-rise multi-tenant office building is not believed to be a good fit. A more probable
<br /> choice for the subject area would be a low-rise multi-tenant office or professional (i.e., medical)
<br /> building--attracting, serving and employing people from the immediate or surrounding area.
<br /> Keep in mind that Highway 10 leads directly to I-35, which is a main artery into the
<br /> Minneapolis-St. Paul core area.
<br /> The retail market is divided into three categories: regional centers (minimum of 300,000 square
<br /> feet of total leasable area, with at least one major anchor tenant); community centers (range of
<br /> 100,000 to 300,000 square feet in total leasable area, typically anchored by a discount, small
<br /> department or variety store, and quite often include a drug or grocery store);and neighborhood
<br /> centers (range of 30,000 to 100,000 square feet in total leasable area and may have a supermarket
<br /> as an anchor).
<br /> The city of Mounds View is home to two neighborhood centers: Mounds View Square and
<br /> Silverview Plaza. After speaking with the leasing agents of both properties, we have discovered
<br /> that Mounds View Square has undergone some major renovations within the past two years and
<br /> has seen some stability in its current tenant base. It is having difficulty attracting new tenants
<br /> however, due to Northtown shopping area roughly three miles to the northwest. Country Club
<br /> •
<br /> grocery store was the anchor back several years, but filed for bankruptcy and closed its stores
<br /> metro-wide. In attempting to land another grocer, the leasing agent stated the competition with
<br /> Northtown's Cub Foods and Rainbow Foods is too fierce. According to the leasing agent
<br /> Mounds View Square has a total area of 95,037 square feet, 20,000 square feet, or 21%, of
<br /> which is vacant. The stand-alone former Bridgemans building on the site has been vacant for
<br /> over a year. The leasing agent reports that he receives at least one call a day inquiring about the
<br /> building. His marketing efforts are geared towards landing a high quality sit-down restaurant
<br /> and many of the inquiries are for office, medical, professional and even mortuary users. These
<br /> inquiries are a good indication of the need in this area.
<br /> Silverview Plaza is a struggling neighborhood center comprised of 35,160 total square feet, of
<br /> which approximately 12,800 square feet, or 36%, will be vacant within the next month. The
<br /> leasing agent states that his marketing efforts and existing tenants have had difficulties with
<br /> increased competition with Mounds View Square center directly across the street and the
<br /> Northtown area. In addition, Silverview Plaza has problems with one-way access off Highway
<br /> in
<br /> 1 V.
<br /> The retail market as a whole in the northeast sector is averaging a vacancy rate of 10.4% overall.
<br /> This compares slightly unfavorably with the entire Metropolitan Area vacancy rate of 8.6%. The
<br /> northwest sector is at 10.7% vacancy. The northeast neighborhood center market, which best
<br /> resembles the type of retail that could possibly be developed in the subject area, has a total
<br /> •
<br /> universe of 2,033,951 square feet, with 244,343 square feet, or 12.0%, vacant. The northwest
<br /> sector, has a total of 1,502,330 square feet of neighborhood center area, of which 220,685 square
<br />
|