Sunday, November 21, 2004

Construction of new retail space is at the forefront of building trends in the Bowling Green area.

Construction of a new Dollar General Market off Louisville Road is progressing, with workers at the site saying they think theyll meet the Dec. 3 deadline to turn over the keys.

Across the highway, a Peppers Mexican restaurant is coming along, and a competitor, Puerto Vallarta, between Peppers and Dollar General, looks to be on schedule.

There is a lot of commercial building going on, said David Cherry of Carters Lumber, noting that the rate of area growth seems to be on the rise he estimated commercial construction is more than twice that of residential.

Commercial leasing rates are stable, said Alex Nottmeier, commercial agent at Neal Turner Realty. The industrial market is showing signs of growth in the area. Retail space is still moving the best in this area.

A side effect of presently low interest rates has been increasing prices on commercial property.

With the transpark and everything going on north of town, a lot of interest in building there now, said Lonnie Gann, agent for Hunt Real Estate. There is a perception that land prices are lower on the north side of town, making it attractive.

Gann said office space in town is not doing as well as retail.

Theres lots of office and professional space available, he said, some that has been built and never occupied.

Predictions about the areas future are less certain.

We spend a lot of time looking at, Whats the next big thing? Gann said. But we dont have a crystal ball.

While land prices are increasing, a fast-rising cost of building is slowing slightly, he said.

Certain pockets of the residential market like single-family homes under $175,000 are pretty strong, he added. Nationally, were seeing a lot of demand for smaller, higher-density properties.

Another trend he sees is retail space getting more expensive to lease, while office space is probably going to go down.

Most of the new stuff being built is on the retail side of the market, Gann said. But if that space built is for a business thats already in the area, then they are leaving another space that someone can fill.  Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1700