[latchkey]

> given the choice between no money and money, most will choose money

They might not have the choice. Nobody is going to rent ground floor retail space in an area with no foot traffic. It is a race to zero all around.

[ImPostingOnHN]

> Nobody is going to rent ground floor retail space in an area with no foot traffic

of course they will, at a low enough rent, obviously, which is the point: lowering rent is indeed a choice, as is going bankrupt, abandoning the property, foreclosure, or selling it at whatever price

[latchkey]

There is a ground floor retail spot near my house with a for-rent sign on the front, that has been empty for years. People have their reasons.

[ImPostingOnHN]

in that case, the reason is that the owner failed to lower rent, declare bankruptcy, abandon the property, get foreclosed on, or sell the property

let the owner rent it for a dollar a month and we'll see if it gets rented

[latchkey]

You left out one other case... the owner wants a specific tenant or in the example that started this whole thread, a Chipotle.

[ImPostingOnHN]

who cares what the owner wants?

the owner probably wants a billion dollars and a pony, too, but what they can have are the options I listed

the reason they don't have tenants is because their asking rent is too high and demand is low

in capitalism, that means they should lower rent

[latchkey]

One more reason I just came across for you... maybe nobody wants to open a store in Gotham City and no amount of free rent can convince them otherwise...

https://twitter.com/bett_yu/status/1685778275975761920

[latchkey]

One can surmise that the owner cares. As you say, capitalism.