4 ms·

I’ve been wondering the same thing. There’s a former Borders in Pasadena that sits empty for most of the year, and only houses a Halloween costume store seasona

I’ve been wondering the same thing. There’s a former Borders in Pasadena that sits empty for most of the year, and only houses a Halloween costume store seasonally. They finally brought down the part of the sign that said “Borders” a few months ago, but they left up the “Books - Music - Cafe” part. It’s clearly not worth renovating, but maybe the seasonal business brings in enough that it doesn’t need a tenant the rest of the year. But also, the store is huge and its layout is unwieldy for most types of retail. What I don’t understand as well is how many empty storefronts around here still have Radio Shack signs above the doors, even in what should be prime locations. I’ve started wondering if having been a Radio Shack is a curse of some sort.

ubernostrum 8y ago
The Borders thing is a pattern that happens all over the country; pop-up Halloween costume stores love old Borders locations, and other abandoned retail spaces. I suspect it's a combination of factors that leads to this: * Retail was heavily overbuilt leading up to the 2008 market crash, so even a decade later there's oversupply of retail real estate compared to demand for it * The economics of brick-and-mortar retail haven't gotten much better, which further depresses demand * There are probably uses for those properties as tools for tax arbitrage which are best served by keeping them empty (and in California, the fear of Proposition 13 reassessment being triggered by redeveloping the property) So leaving it empty most of the year, with the seasonal rental, may be the best option for the owner of the property.
- saalweachter 8y ago
  The construction is also probably less subject to decay when unoccupied than your standard stickframe house as well, so vacant may cost substantially less than constantly occupied.

ubernostrum 8y ago

The Borders thing is a pattern that happens all over the country; pop-up Halloween costume stores love old Borders locations, and other abandoned retail spaces. I suspect it's a combination of factors that leads to this: * Retail was heavily overbuilt leading up to the 2008 market crash, so even a decade later there's oversupply of retail real estate compared to demand for it * The economics of brick-and-mortar retail haven't gotten much better, which further depresses demand * There are probably uses for those properties as tools for tax arbitrage which are best served by keeping them empty (and in California, the fear of Proposition 13 reassessment being triggered by redeveloping the property) So leaving it empty most of the year, with the seasonal rental, may be the best option for the owner of the property.

saalweachter 8y ago
The construction is also probably less subject to decay when unoccupied than your standard stickframe house as well, so vacant may cost substantially less than constantly occupied.