MSN is reporting today that retail vacancy rates are at their highest levels in 18 years. Not surprisingly, asking rents have fallen over 2% in the last year. Note I said ‘asking rents.’ With vacancies as high as they are, one opines there exists shall we say a divergence between ‘ask’ and ‘agreed’. As those of us in the English antiques trade know very well, in established venues we find ourselves fewer in number. Replaced by- what? Lately, it has been vacant storefronts.
While my blog yesterday may have seemed almost celebratory, believing the current rental market would constitute for antiques dealers an economic boon, no merchant wants to see an inordinate number of vacancies. In the manner of the fellow who will not enter a sparsely patronized although otherwise appealing restaurant- and I am one of these- business districts need to be vibrant places, with active shops and plenty of street traffic. ‘Buzz’ is the popular term, and buzz is always a vital component not only within a gallery, but in the environment surrounding it.
Mercifully, Jackson Square has a fair number of dealers, actively pursuing their varied specialities. Though arguably the most prominent and certainly the longest lived venue in this part of the country, the neighborhood buzz is not as yet deafening. Still, we are all still open and embarked on a new year. To repeat my sentiment from yesterday, time, and optimism, will tell.