Vacancy study: retail appears resilient while office vacancies persist; town reviews tenant‑finish rules

Staff presented a town‑wide vacancy study based on leasable square footage and site visits, showing variation across zones. Towncore was reported at roughly 11% vacancy, Little Beaver was identified as an outlier at 18% (three commercial buildings), and several retail locations (La Riva, downtown retail storefronts) showed strong recent leasing activity.

Council members questioned methodology and asked staff to recheck counts for buildings in transition and properties recently purchased; staff said counts reflected the moment of the survey and agreed to revisit specific buildings called out by council. Several council members and EDAC representatives discussed whether tenant‑finish or façade grant programs should cover interior build‑outs, signage upgrades, or exterior improvements. Staff and legal counsel remain reviewing program rules; an update scheduled for the July 21 meeting may indicate which costs are eligible. One staff update noted the tenant‑finish approach currently in place is a sales‑tax rebate rather than interior grant funding.

Council members suggested assessing adaptive reuse (converting office to retail/restaurant) and offered to gather example conversion criteria (power, water availability, layout constraints) from other municipalities for planning guidance. Staff will follow up with a year‑over‑year vacancy comparison and present potential program designs for attracting retail tenants.