The end of the era of the big box retailer is leaving landlords with the difficult task of finding new tenants for the large, empty storefronts.
When Sports Authority left its headquarters in the Denver suburb of Englewood, a new opportunity opened up for an atypical tenant to take its place. As Jason Blevins of the Denver Postreports, Earth Treks took over the space to open the country's largest indoor rock climbing gym. Chris Warner, the founder of Earth Treks, sees the glut of empty big box stores dotting the country as an opportunity to expand his rock climbing empire.
Repurposing big box stores, which are fading at a breakneck pace, is a mounting challenge for the retail industry, where hundreds of the suddenly empty stores anchored thousands of peripheral businesses.
CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate investment firm, noted in its 2017 market report that 70 big box spaces are available for rent in metro Denver.
FULL STORY: Country’s largest climbing gym coming to former Sports Authority headquarters in Englewood
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