The Shopko on 17th Street in Idaho Falls officially closed its doors last month. The former big-box retailer vacated over 90,000 square feet, driving up overall retail vacancy to 8.76%, the highest it’s been in 12 months.
Shopko’s closure follows behind other major retailers such as Sears and Toy-R-Us. These large retail closures will continue to make headlines. However, the growing trend of “adaptive reuse” where buildings are creatively used in ways different from their original design (ie. big-box retail space being used for education or storage), should help lessen the impact.