Only the businesses that did sufficent volume and had sufficient margins to cover the ever increasing cost of rent, loss of products due to theft, and vandalism

Only the businesses that did sufficent volume and had sufficient margins to cover the ever increasing cost of rent, loss of products due to theft, and vandalism have stayed open. The retail shakeout has been brutal in the urban core of Portland and Seattle as well, anywhere where there isn't nearby housing to create a walk shed that would allow smaller businesses to survive has seen something of a retail apocalypse. Single purpose office or commercial neighborhoods just aren't viable anymore, you need a critical mass of local customers adjacent your retail business for it to survive.