Haymarket Landing, a mixed-used building in downtown Eau Claire leased by Commonweal Development. (Submitted image)

Commercial real estate vacancies shrank in Eau Claire in 2022, a positive sign for the region’s economy in the face of inflation and rising interest rates, concluded a recent report from Commonweal Development.

Early each year Commonweal – an Eau Claire based firm that develops, manages, and brokers commercial real estate – compiles data on the commercial real estate market in Eau Claire, Altoona, Lake Hallie, and the Town of Washington. Across these communities, vacancy rates fell last year for all types of commercial property, including office, retail, and industrial.

The retail vacancy rate dropped from 10.67% in 2021 to 9.75% last year. As the report noted, this was despite two large retail properties – the former Mega East and Shopko buildings – remaining empty last year. In addition, there was minimal new retail construction in 2022.  

Likewise, there were few new office projects in the area in 2022, and the office vacancy rate fell from 6.07% to 5.3%. The report singled out industrial space as the strongest sector last year, with new building, expansion, and leasing all taking place in 2022. The vacancy rate for industrial property fell from 1.14% to 0.91% – that’s just one-quarter of the national average, the report noted.

“Commercial real estate fared well in 2022, despite continued construction cost inflation, and rising interest rates,” Commonweal President Stuart Schaefer wrote in the report’s introduction. “Given its regional strength and recent signs of growth, we believe the Eau Claire region will continue to prosper and the commercial real estate market will continue to perform well, primarily as a result of the region’s growth.”