Strip malls and other outdoor shopping centers throughout the Twin Cities suburbs are busier than ever.
Demand from retailers has driven nationwide shopping center occupancy to its highest level since 2007, when commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield first started collecting the retail data.
Local real estate brokers and property managers say it has been hard for tenants to find space at outdoor shopping areas, especially in first- and second-ring suburbs but also in outstate Minnesota as brick-and-mortar retail has experienced a resurgence.