CSU’s Levin College of Urban Affairs Capstone class of the Urban Planning, Design and Development Master’s program presented an update on the Northeast Ohio Regional Retail Analysis on May 8, 2007. The Cuyahoga County Planning Commission produced the study in 2000 for The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency.
The class did a ‘windshield analysis’ of retail locations that are 5,000 sq ft. or larger, looking for changes in type, for demolitions, and for new or proposed retail. It was not a complete update, but they did confirm a trend first noticed in the county’s 2000 study—that retail is growing even as population has remained relatively flat in the study area (Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina and Portage counties).
Convenience retail grew by 11% and shopping centers grew by a whopping 30% while population in the seven-county area declined by 1%. Even in areas that experienced population growth, such as Medina County (10.8%), retail exploded (51%), indicating the spatial mismatch between the location of new and proposed retail and areas that are under served continues unabated.
Other interesting statistics the class recorded:
- Retail space per person grew by 25%
- Except for the Heights area, all areas of the region show a floor space surplus (6.3 million sq ft. surplus in the 2000 study)
- The retail surplus grew the most in Medina, northern Summit and Geauga counties
