Vacancy in the Regina, Saskatchewan retail market rose to 4.59 per cent as a result of Sears Canada’s bankruptcy.

The departure has left an additional 266,000 square feet of retail vacancy and many landlords are deciding they would rather deal with smaller and mid-size tenants than rely on one single lease, according to Colliers Regina Retail Market Report Q4 2017.

Sears was a large influence on Regina, “especially when combined with the 900,000 square feet of industrial space also abandoned by Sears in the city.”

However, even without Sears’ exit, Colliers says vacancy rates would have dropped to rates lower than 2016. The retail market remains strong with steady rental rates forecasted for 2018. It’s expected that retailers will snap up portions of the empty Sears space this year, as several development projects unfold across the city.

Some of these include the city’s first H&M, set to open after extensive renovations in the Cornwall Centre, located in Central Regina where 75 per cent of the total vacancy is attributed to Sears. Nearby, The Shoppes on Hamilton has attracted boutique retailers including Sara Lindsay Makeup Studio, Two Fifty Two Boutique and Queen V Fashion House. A new Costco location is expected by summer 2018, along with Dream Centre’s seven-acre grocery anchored site in Coopertown, starting construction in 2019.

A number of new retailers were announced for the Grasslands shopping centre, including a Winners/Homesense, the first Justice and Stuctube location in the province and three or four restaurants. In total, Grasslands completed an additional 70,000 square feet of new retail or 64 per cent of the total new construction for Regina.

Northwest Regina continues to have the lowest vacancy in Regina. No new development took place in 2017, but at Capital Crossing, a large-scale retail and mixed-use development is underway. In the new Westerra subdivision, a projected 250,000 square feet is expected for the first phase of Horizons, a 69-acre retail development.