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Retail Follows Rooftops: Grocery-Anchored Plazas Drive Calgary’s Suburban Development

July 6, 2026 5 Minute Read

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Alistair Corbett and Cory Miles standing in front of a grocery anchored plaza construction site

Calgary’s rapid population growth is expanding the city’s suburban footprint, driving demand for accessible, affordable and convenience retail, particularly food, medical and service-based tenants.

That’s according to CBRE’s Alistair Corbett and Cory Miles, who are working with developers to curate tenant mixes in grocery-anchored retail plazas that will serve the daily needs of residents.

“Retail follows rooftops,” says Miles. “And right now most rooftops are being built in new suburban communities.”

“Grocery-anchored centres are performing extremely well,” adds Corbett. “They offer a level of stability that is highly attractive to landlords, providing consistent traffic that carries over to other retailers in the area.”

“But converting demand into deals is increasingly constrained by the reality that space is hard to find.”

Fierce Competition for Space

In several of Calgary’s core growth corridors – the South, Southeast and North Central – retail vacancy is now between 1.0% and 2.0%, according to CBRE’s H2 2025 Calgary Retail Figures.

New supply is well below historical norms, construction costs remain elevated, and vacancy in many key submarkets has dropped to historically low levels. “At this point, the market is no longer tight, it is effectively full, limiting tenant mobility and restricting expansion,” Corbett explains.

The imbalance is most pronounced in the suburban market, where retail continues to follow residential growth. “We’ve seen significant population growth in recent years, and these communities need services,” says Miles.

Corbett and Miles are currently working on several large-scale projects, including Choice Properties REIT / Enright Capital’s Belvedere Shopping Centre, Brookfield Residential’s Livingston Centre, Royop Development Corp.’s Mercado Village, and Dream REIT’s Alpine Park.

All these developments are positioned to serve growing suburban populations.

“And grocery-anchored centres are becoming the backbone of suburban retail projects,” says Miles. “We’re seeing a trend toward value-based national grocers in particular.”

“Value is the new luxury,” he adds. “If shoppers have some disposable income left in their pockets after a grocery shop and can spend more on nearby services, they feel like they’re enjoying a higher quality of life.”

Leased for the Long Run

Developers are no longer leasing retail space simply to achieve full occupancy. They’re choosing to be highly selective about their tenant mix in order to drive sustainable traffic for the long run.  

By extension, so is CBRE. “We don’t just fill space for the sake of filling space,” says Miles. “Our team curates highly customized tenant mixes built around the specific demographics and needs of each trade area, getting these centres off the ground and ensuring they stand the test of time.”

For prospective tenants, that means fewer leasing options, longer timelines and a higher bar to secure space. Even well-capitalized operators are finding that if they’re not in alignment with a developer’s merchandising strategy, deals are not getting done.

For developers, there is the opportunity and responsibility to lease space in retail centres with discipline and an eye to the future. “We’re not just leasing for today,” Corbett says. “We’re leasing with the long-term needs of these communities in mind.”

“Success in retail development isn’t about filling space,” he adds. “It’s about getting the mix exactly right.”

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