Retailers set pace for Westchester construction.

During the 1980s, executives looking for a better quality of life left the big cities and relocated their businesses to suburban communities like Westchester County. This influx of executives prompted a demand for office space, encouraging office construction and spurring residential development.

In the 1990s, the tables turned. As the demand for suburban office space diminished and vacancy rates climbed to an all-time high, residential and commercial construction reached a standstill and the Westchester market faced its first glimpse of distress. Fortunately for Westchester County, a bright light shines on the horizon.

National retailers, who until recently shied away from New York's higher-than-average rents, are realizing the profit to be gained by opening stores in Westchester's affluent marketplace. They are taking advantage of Westchester's stabilized real estate values, leasing or purchasing locations at competitive rates. In 1995, retailers will help set the pace for the Westchester real estate market's recovery.

With convenience and accessibility being the two major factors influencing consumer choice, retailers now entering Westchester County are positioned to tap its abundant and affluent market.

Pace, a warehouse club, entered the Westchester market in 1992. Positioned off Route 9A in the heart of Elmsford, Pace's profits were so high they enticed Price Club, another warehouse club, to open a store in New Rochelle on Route 1. Pace and Price Club are not the only retailers placing their fate in the hands of the volatile Westchester Market and coming out ahead. Home Depot has expressed interest in opening stores in both Peekskill and Portchester.

On a even larger scale, The O'Connor Group, a leading developer, has undertaken a multi-million dollar construction project. Under their guidance, The Westchester, a mall anchored by a Nordstrom's Department Store, is being built at the intersection of Bloomindale Road and Westchester Avenue in White Plains. Retail development is alive in Westchester County.

Municipal development is also underway in Westchester County, a new County Courthouse is under construction in White Plains' Urban Renewal Area and will be ready to take cases within the next year.

What Westchester needs most is a decrease in its commercial vacancy rate. With 33.2 million square feet of office space presently available, the office market has at least another 18 months of recovery ahead before we can expect to see commercial construction. Retailers are spurring development, but the Westchester office market is far behind. Now, if all these retailers entering the Westchester market need office space for corporate headquarters, we might be on to something... In the meantime, we will have to accept the abundance of retail development as a bright light on a dark horizon.