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King of Prussia and Bala Cynwyd are so stuffed with retail that stores are moving to nearby areas, report says

King of Prussia and Bala Cynwyd shopping districts have a less than 3 percent vacancy rate, meaning they are almost at full capacity, the report states. This is leading tenants to try adjoining areas.

The last Yoga class of the summer in the open space at the King of Prussia Town Center.
The last Yoga class of the summer in the open space at the King of Prussia Town Center.Read moreSTEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer

Demand for retail is increasing throughout the Philadelphia suburbs, a reaction to the construction of apartments and offices attracting new residents, concludes a recent report from Marcus & Millichap, a national commercial real estate brokerage firm.

King of Prussia and Bala Cynwyd shopping districts have a less than 3 percent vacancy rate, meaning they are almost at full capacity, the report states. This is leading tenants to look at nearby neighborhoods for open spaces. The New Jersey suburbs are also seeing construction with the 83,100-square feet of retail from the Shoppes and Residences at Renaissance Square in Marlton.

Retailers are looking to provide people a different experience from shopping on Amazon or browsing Instagram, giving rise to manufactured urban-like downtowns in the suburbs, The Inquirer previously reported.

The popularity at the King of Prussia Town Center leads to the parking spaces often at or near capacity, which can lead to frustrated would-be shoppers who can’t find a space to park their car, Inquirer columnist Maria Panaritis wrote last month.

A town center is also planned in the Montgomery County community of Upper Dublin.

“This is what retail has become,” Tom Simmons, president of the Mid-Atlantic Region at Kimco Realty told The Inquirer in September, referring to suburban downtowns. “Retail needed to change in order to be current in today’s shopping environment.”