ORLANDO—Healthy and growing. Those are two accurate words to describe Jacksonville's retail market. But there is one quadrant of the city that is outperforming all the rest.
GlobeSt.com caught up with Cliff Taylor, a senior vice president at CBRE, to get his take on the market in this exclusive interview. To learn how Jacksonville's retail market compares with Orlando, read my story about Orlando's Changing Macro Retail Scene.
GlobeSt.com: How would you describe Jacksonville's current retail market?
Taylor: Overall, I would say the retail market is healthy and is growing. The vacancy rate fell to 9.2% in the second quarter of 2015, compared to 10% a year ago. The St. Augustine submarket, which is the lowest, remained at 3%.
Most of the growth is taking place in the southeast quadrant of the city, along the Butler corridor and east of Interstate 95, Ponte Vedra, and northern Saint Johns County. There, Saint Johns Town Center, which has about 1.41 million square feet of retail and features every major retailer from Target to Tiffany, continues to drive the majority of retail growth for the entire market. It is one of the most popular centers in the entire southeastern United States with more than 16 million visitors per year.
GlobeSt.com: What kind of impact has the success of St. John Center had on nearby property sales and retail development?
Taylor: Earlier this year, we arranged the sale of Point Mead
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