We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC.
    • Podcast
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Dispatches
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Study: companies convert idle retail sites to last-mile fulfillment facilities

Study: companies convert idle retail sites to last-mile fulfillment facilities

CBRE finds rush to provide final-mile distribution services as e-commerce growth strains networks.

retail store drawing
July 23, 2020
DC Velocity Staff
No Comments

As they scramble to adapt to red-hot growth in e-commerce orders, U.S. companies are accelerating a trend of converting retail sites into industrial operations such as last-mile distribution hubs for fulfilling online purchases, according to a report from real estate services and investment firm CBRE Group Inc.

The Los Angeles-based firm found that 13.8 million square feet of retail space has been converted to 15.5 million square feet of industrial space across the country since 2017, a shift that is likely to accelerate as e-commerce continues to expand and industrial rents reach all-time highs.

The study shows 59 retail-to-industrial conversion projects that have been completed, proposed, or underway since 2017. This is a marked increase from the previous survey in January of 2019, which counted just 24, CBRE said. Of those 59 projects currently tracked, 40 of them, or 67.8%, are conversions or adaptive reuse, while the remaining 19 projects (32.2%) are properties that were demolished for new construction.

“As online retail evolves and expands, many retailers and developers will find opportunities to convert underperforming stores into final-mile distribution sites to support ecommerce operations,” John Morris, Americas Industrial & Logistics and Retail Leader for CBRE, said in a release. “With rising industrial rents and changing consumer patterns, we should see this activity continue to grow, as more retail sites will be economically viable for these types of conversions.”

Sorted by geography, the greatest number of retail-to-distribution conversions are seen in Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Chicago—due to the large volume of “dead malls” that plague the Midwest—while some projects are also underway in Omaha and Dallas/Ft. Worth, CBRE said.

Logistics Network Design
KEYWORDS CBRE
  • Related Articles

    Cloudleaf, CSafe Global enhance real-time visibility solutions

    The Home Depot adds 3 DCs in Georgia

    Industrial and logistics segments to lead commercial real estate recovery

Recent Articles by DC Velocity Staff

Train kept a rollin’

Werner invests in autonomous trucking firm TuSimple

Blasgen to retire as leader of CSCMP in March

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Cold chain giant Lineage Logistics buys its own rail operator

  • For container lines and ports, what a difference a year makes

  • Outlook 2021: What’s in store for logistics supply chain?

  • Capacity challenges will continue in 2021

  • Cushman & Wakefield Brokers Sale of 170 Acres plus Lease for 1MSF Build-to-Suit for Home Improvement Retailer in Commerce City, CO.

Now Playing on DCV-TV

2mw 01 11 21 thumb

Ocean Sector Shaping the Next Shipageddon

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
If you're a shipper, it's never good when a rep for an ocean carrier tells you, "You better sit down before you read this." We've been seeing astoundingly high increases in the ocean sector and they seem to have staying power. While the ocean carriers used blank sailings last year to tip the balance of supply and...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Proven Benefits: A Compendium of Slotting Optimization Success Snapshots

  • Bridging Information Gaps in Dock and Yard Operations

  • How Intelligent Sensor Solutions Turn Data Into Action

  • Order picking Solutions: Understanding Your Options

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing