Update on Vacancy Rates

Vacant Store Fronts on the Decline.

When we invest in our downtowns, our downtowns invest in us!

Administration has recently conducted a downtown vacancy study to assess the state of our rural main streets. The first study was conducted during the summer of 2017, the second in the summer of 2022, and the most recent assessment completed during the spring of 2024. The Town of Essex has two separate downtown areas, Essex Centre and Harrow, which have been the target areas for this study. The time period between the 2022 and 2024 reports included two streetscape projects in both downtown areas, which based on the results of this study, have had a positive impact to downtown vacancy rates. In 2022, Essex Centre had a vacancy rate of 5.79% and now has a slightly improved vacancy rate of 4.76%. In Harrow, the commercial vacancy rate was 6% in 2022 and in 2024 the rate has decreased to 5.05%
vacancy.

Essex Centre and Harrow downtowns have different business compositions. Each business in the two areas was placed into one of four sectors:
 Professional,
 Service,
 Restaurant, and
 Retail
The professional sector includes businesses such as law firms and real estate offices. The service sector includes businesses such as laundromats and spas. The restaurant sector included sit-down and fast-food restaurants. The retail sector includes businesses that sell goods such as clothing and appliances. Charts 1.2 & 1.3 below are visualizations of the
business compositions of Essex Centre and Harrow.