By James Peters

Retail sector booming as Kamloops approaches key population landmark

Mar 26, 2018 | 3:21 PM

KAMLOOPS — As the population of Kamloops creeps toward 100,000, national retailers are taking note.

The 2016 Census listed the population of Kamloops as 90,280, with a wider metropolitan area of 103,811.

Colliers International Managing Broker Mona Murray says some large retailers won’t even consider entering into a particular market unless its population is at minimum a six-digit number.

“We’re edging closer to it, and as we get closer to it, a lot of these retailers are looking a year or 18 months out,” Murray says.

While exact numbers weren’t available, Murray says the number of vacant storefronts seems to be on the decline in the city, and retail leasing is booming.

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“We are getting some interest that we’ve never had before. We have a couple of developments, new buildings that are going to be put up, one on the North Shore and one up at the Greyhound site. We’re getting some very good, serious interest in retailers for those locations — high traffic locations, of course,” Murray says.

“We were successful in leasing out the Wholesale Sports building to a national retailer, and they’ll be opening on June 1. So I think things are much better now. This is the busiest quarter we’ve had — this last quarter — in some time.”

Aberdeen Mall is attempting to fill a giant empty space thanks to the bankruptcy and closure of the Sears chain.

But the Sahali Mall vacancy created by the 2015 departure of Target that loomed large on the retail vacancy list for two years has now been filled with a trio of tenants: Jump 360, Planet Fitness and Value Village.

Murray says “activity-based” retailers like the gym and the trampoline park may be the new trend.

“When we were at the International Council of Shopping Centres in Whistler, we heard that retail shopping centres are changing quite a bit. There will be some activity-based retailers going in there, and we’ve certainly seen that at the Sahali Mall. We can look forward to some interesting things in the future, I’m sure.”