Sometimes it’s good to be a foreigner, literally.

David Lukes, CEO of Beachwood-based SITE Centers, which operates more than 100 outdoor shopping and power centers, is one of the experts cited in this Reuters analysis of indoor shopping center issues as consumers continue to orient themselves strongly towards the opening. air centers.

From the article:

New real estate industry data for June shows vacancy rates in indoor shopping malls in the United States could exceed those in suburban and linear malls.

Figures from real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle add to a string of bankruptcies and takeovers, which has even seen industry leader Simon Property Group (SPG.N) hand over control of some buildings to creditors or take over. broken business transactions for their debts. .

JLL data predicts that US indoor shopping center vacancy rates will peak at just under 9% this year, compared to 7.8% for outdoor malls and 7% for “malls,” code l industry for outdoor centers anchored by big box retailers like Best Buy or Target.

This change has been going on for some time, but it is accelerating in a pandemic world. Homeowners “are focusing their investments on outdoor locations and smaller stores in cheaper locations where buyers can feel more comfortable,” Reuters notes.

“The demand for space right now is higher than I have seen in 15 years,” Lukes told the press service.

Another sign of change, Reuters notes, comes from Macy’s, which has closed its store in the Water Tower Place building on Chicago’s “Magnificent Mile.” Instead, he notes, the company “turns to modest buildings like its new” Market by Macy’s, “located on canal-side land in Fort Worth, Texas and flanked by a steakhouse and branch of Wells Fargo “.

The change also presents a challenge for large city retailing. Conor Flynn, CEO of Kimco Realty investment trust, which owns nearly 400 shopping malls and outdoor complexes based around grocery stores, told Reuters: “We are currently experiencing the migration to the suburbs. I am cautiously optimistic. that the lion’s share of what we’ve been through is sticky. “