Bavishi’s broker Peter Schubert, the managing director for commercial leasing at TerraCRG, estimates that between 10% and 20% of commercial real estate in Brooklyn is vacant right now — officially.
“On top of that 10 or 20%, we know that there’s kind of this shadow inventory of these other spaces, which haven’t quite hit the market yet,” Schubert said. “I think we’re at some kind of a record number, probably historic number that in some cases are in the 20 to 30% range.”
For months, TerraCRG was getting almost no calls from prospective tenants interested in renting retail or other commercial space, according to Schubert. But with COVID vaccines rolling out and warmer weather on the way, that’s changing.
“I feel we hit some inflection point sometime in the last six or eight weeks,” Schubert said. “We’re really very busy. A lot more tenant activity and a lot more enthusiasm and optimism around the future.”
Other Brooklyn-based brokers and landlords are experiencing that, too.