Southwest Ohio shopping malls, as a group, have seen their vacancy rates more than double and their rental rates plunge by almost three-quarters in the years since The Greene Town Center opened in Beavercreek and the bottom fell out of the local economy, a newly released report on retail activity shows.

A report for the third quarter of 2010 by the CoStar Group of Washington, shows local mall vacancy rates jumped from 3.1 percent in 2006 to 6.4 percent currently. Vacant mall space rose from 156,481 square feet in 2006 to 329,426. Mall rental rates were much more volatile than the national averages, plummeting from $39.04 per square foot in 2006 to $10.39. CoStar said these are asking rates that may differ from actual rates paid by tenants.

The vacancy rate for all retail types in the region went from 10.9 percent in 2006 to 9.2 percent today, CoStar reported. Rental rates were flat during the period, going from $9.44 to $9.34.

When longtime Springfield restaurant Bradfields was evicted from the Upper Valley Mall this month, the owner said he had not been able to pay even a reduced lease amount because of the significant drop in business at the mall in the last year.

Of those regional malls, Clark County’s Upper Valley Mall was likely the least affected by The Greene’s opening in 2006, said Upper Valley Mall manager Brenda LaBonte.

“We are a farther distance away from The Greene than the Dayton malls so it has not impacted us as much as the Dayton-area malls,” LaBonte said.

Doug Harnish, president of Market Metrics LLC of Kettering, said landlords became more willing during the downturn to cut lease rates.

“Obviously, if you have more vacancy, especially if your cash flow shifts from positive to negative, you may want somebody in there at any rate just to begin to pay bills, to keep it afloat,” Harnish said.

CoStar studied six local malls throughout the period.

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