ABSTRACT

We use the closing of a big-box retail tenants under corporate bankruptcy to estimate the amenity value of losing neighborhood retail and service establishments. Our analysis provides evidence that the loss of a big box retailer leads to 8-10% decline in establishments and employment within 0.1 mile. These effects are very localized and persist over the long term. This loss of commercial activity leads to a 1% decline in nearby home prices and this grows to 4% when focusing on retail centers that experienced the greatest loss of businesses after the bankruptcy. We further characterize how over 2,900 store locations transition in the decade following the bankruptcy and highlight that demolished and vacant locations generate the largest loss of amenities. We find limited evidence of any long-term recovery from this loss of local business amenities. Results have important policy implications for local governments attempting to mitigate the effects of the longer-term trend away from traditional big-box retail and towards online retailers and warehouse clubs and supercenters.

THE SPEAKER

Tingyu Zhou is an Associate Professor of Real Estate at the College of Business at Florida State University. Her research covers various topics in real estate economics such as commercial real estate, housing, and retail. She holds a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Connecticut (2014). She worked at the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University (2014-2018) before she joined FSU in 2018. She has published 27 peer-reviewed journal articles in top journals such as Real Estate Economics, Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Regional Science and Urban Economics, Journal of Business Economics and Statistics, and Review of Asset Pricing Studies. She serves as an Associate Editor of International Real Estate Review and board members of the Asian Real Estate Society, Global Chinese Real Estate Congress, and Real Estate Research Institute. She received a number of honors and awards, including the the Homer Hoyt Post-Doctoral Honoree from the Weimer School of Advanced Studies, Best Referee award of Real Estate Economics, Best Paper Award from American Real Estate Society and GCREC.