Cleveland Retail Market Report

Vacancy remains near record lows, poised for further compression. Cleveland is on track to see the fewest deliveries on record in 2025, which could be its fifth consecutive year of sub-5 percent vacancy. With new supply extensively pre-leased, supply-side vacancy pressure should be minimal. Reduced construction reflects Cleveland’s slowing population growth, which will turn to contraction this year. Still, total employment will edge its way back up to mid-2019 tallies by year-end, supporting retail spending. Tenant demand, meanwhile, is divided. Single-tenant vacancy rose 50 basis points in 2024, with an increase of 150 basis points in Lorain County. Multi-tenant spaces, however, experienced a 50-basis-point rate compression, led by triple-digit reductions in West and Northeast Cleveland. Leasing activity was strongest near the waterfront, with a secondary focus around Akron and North Canton. Move-ins slated for this year focus on mixed-use retail spaces in Downtown and Midtown, skewing toward strip centers in the West, Northwest and Lorain County submarkets.