Reply #23: here in the lower Hudson Valley, stores are closing right and left . . .

[OneBlueSky]

virtually every small to mid-size shopping center has multiple new vacancies, often as many as 50% of its stores and frequently including the largest ("anchor") store . . .

today I went out to buy some flea and tick treatment for my canine companion only to find that the local pet supply store was no more . . . no warning, no nothing, just gone . . . seems that every week one store or another closes down, and no one is rushing in to fill the spaces they're vacating . . .

even the signage is getting desperate, suggesting it won't be long before owners are no longer be willing to support shopping centers that are costing them more to maintain than they're bringing in in rents . . . I can envision many of these places being bulldozed and made into parking lots (or just vacant lots) if things don't improve soon . . .