Old Bridge, N.J. – Locally based R.J. Brunelli & Co. recently conducted its 11th annual survey of the central New Jersey area. According to the survey, the vacancy rate in retail properties along central New Jersey’s four shopping corridors remained unchanged at 4.3 percent during 2000. However, the firm cautioned that the rate might rise in 2001 due to the bankruptcies of Grand Union, Bradlees and other retailers.
The firm found 944,100 sq. ft. of vacancies in the 21.7 million sq. ft. of space surveyed in Mercer, Middlesex and Monmouth counties, and a small portion of Ocean County.
The study examined shopping centers and freestanding buildings exceeding 2,000 sq. ft. Regional malls and centers under construction were excluded. The 4.3 percent rate for 2000 and 1999 was the lowest in the eleven years that R.J. Brunelli & Co. has surveyed the central New Jersey market.