The Center City District recently released its latest report on downtown Philadelphia retail, but while experts say it has stabilized, there is still room to grow, writes Meir Rinde for Billy Penn at WHYY.

According to the report, the retail occupancy rate for the area spanning from Girard Avenue to the north to Tasker Avenue in the south has stabilized to 83 percent.

While its lower than the all-time high of 89 percent recorded around 2018, it shows a decent recovery since the pandemic lows.

Clint Randall, vice president of economic development at the Center City District, called it Center City’s “new normal.”

The report listed about 100 recent business openings over the last couple years. About 70 percent of them are cafes, restaurants, bars, and other food establishments. Another 41 stores are expected to open in the coming months, most of which are food and beverage businesses.

Center City District has 1,792 retail businesses overall, a 4 percent increase. Since 2019, food and beverage establishments are down 6 percent, clothing stores are up 15 percent, and hair salons and gyms are up 4 percent.

“We’re starting to see a retail mix that is more catering to the growing and increasingly affluent residential population,” Randall said,

Read more about the Center City’s retail is doing in Billy Penn at WHYY.

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