Spec's filled a "big box" vacated by Linens 'n Things at Weslayan Plaza.
Nordstorm Rack nabbed a prime space in Centre at Post Oak after CompUSA left.
Circuit City and Linens ‘n Things left some big holes in the Houston shopping center market over the last year after they pulled out of the market and closed stores here. Slowly, but surely, a lot of those empty stores have been refilling with other retailers, according to a new study by the Weitzman Group.
For example, Spec’s, the homegrown liquor and wine superstore, took over the old Linens ‘n Things space at the Weslayan Plaza shopping center. Other vacant spots were backfilled by Conn’s, Robert’s Carpets and Ashley Furniture, the Weitzman Group reported. And the former CompUSA store, a 30,000-square-foot space in the Centre at Post Oak near the Galleria, has been leased by Nordstrom Rack.
Overall, Houston’s retail center market had its share of slippage. The citywide retail occupancy rate dropped to 86 percent at year-end, down from 87 percent at the end of 2008, according to Weitzman, a realty firm that specializes in shopping centers. But Weitzman is predicting small, but positive gains for the retail market, in 2010 as the Houston economy stabilizes.
