Shopping for Space

Every shop owner wants to be located at the corner of Main and Main.

That's why the best retail locations in the region from Tampa to Naples are commanding rents not seen since the real estate boom — that is, if they have space to rent.

Buildings with space in areas such as Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa, State Road 60 in Brandon and U.S. 41 in Naples are filling up as consumers start spending again. Recent data from market tracker CoStar Group shows vacancies in the single digits and rents beginning to rise in many areas of the Gulf Coast (see chart).