Retail Space in Racine, Wisconsin

Van Vlissingen and Co. represents retail tenants, buyers, and landlords in Racine, Wisconsin. Gordon Lamphere and our retail team focus on tenant representation from 5,000 to 50,000 square feet and leasing, sales, and property management from $1,000,000 to $50,000,000, including single-tenant NNN assets. Van Vlissingen and Co. performs more than 100 commercial real estate transactions annually, and our team has completed over $3 billion in transaction volume, including retail transactions in Racine.

We have operated continuously in Chicagoland commercial real estate since 1879, thirty-one years after Racine was incorporated, and we work both sides of the Illinois–Wisconsin border.

What Makes Racine Retail Different?

Racine is a two-tier trade area, and getting that wrong is the most common and most expensive mistake made here.

The city and the ring around it are different markets

The City of Racine reports a median household income near $53,000, per capita income around $27,000, and 18 to 20 percent of residents living below the poverty line. It is a genuine value market.

Cross the city line into Mount Pleasant, immediately west and south, and the median household income is $83,827 — roughly 58 percent higher. Caledonia sits to the north on a similar footing. Racine County as a whole holds nearly 200,000 people across more than 80,000 households.

So a Racine retail asset’s trade area composition depends heavily on where in the city it sits and which direction it faces. A site on the western or southern edge draws meaningfully from a much wealthier catchment. A site in the urban core does not. Underwriting either on a city-wide income average produces a number that describes neither, and a retailer who tours the county and reads one demographic sheet will site in the wrong place.

The daytime workforce is larger than the market suggests

Racine holds 2,285 business establishments employing approximately 37,264 people, with an annual payroll of $1,958,297,000, in a city of roughly 77,816 residents. Manufacturing employs 7,731 residents, health care 5,088, and retail trade 4,749. City employment grew 1.73 percent between 2023 and 2024.

A daytime employment base approaching half the resident population supports food, service, and convenience retail at intensities the residential count alone would not. It also concentrates that demand around the employment nodes rather than spreading it evenly, which matters for site selection.

And there is a genuine downtown and waterfront

Racine sits on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River, 22 miles south of Milwaukee and 60 miles north of Chicago. The downtown and waterfront carry beaches, marinas, the Racine Zoo, museums, restaurants, and nightlife.

The city also has an unusually strong food identity for its size. Racine’s Danish, German, and Czech immigrant heritage produced the Kringle, which became Wisconsin’s official state pastry in 2013 and remains a genuine destination draw. For specialty food, bakery, and visitor-facing retail, that is a real asset rather than a marketing line, and it is the kind of category that performs above what local income would predict.

Income, poverty, population, and heritage figures from the City of Racine. Business and employment figures from the 2024 Business Census and the American Community Survey. Mount Pleasant income per US Census data.

Where Is Retail Space in Racine?

• Downtown Racine and the waterfront — Main Street, Sixth Street, and the Root River and lakefront area. Smaller-footprint retail, restaurants, galleries, and visitor-facing uses, with the Maltworks incubator at Belle City Square and continuing revitalization activity.
• The Washington Avenue (Highway 20) corridor — the principal east-west retail spine, running from downtown west toward Interstate 94 and through into Mount Pleasant.
• The Durand Avenue (Highway 11) corridor — large-format and community retail in the southern part of the city and continuing into Mount Pleasant.
• Green Bay Road and Douglas Avenue — neighborhood and convenience retail running north to south.
• The I-94 corridor — to the west in Mount Pleasant and Sturtevant, carrying the regional and highway-oriented retail that serves the wider county.

The corridors that cross the city line matter most. Washington Avenue and Durand Avenue both run from the value-oriented urban core into markedly higher-income territory, and a site’s position along either changes its trade area composition substantially over a short distance. That is worth mapping properly rather than assuming.

What Is the Racine Trade Area Like?

Racine is the fifth-most populous city in Wisconsin and the county seat, with approximately 77,816 residents at the 2020 census. The City’s 2025 housing study puts the current figure at 76,378 across 30,921 households. Racine County holds nearly 200,000 residents across more than 80,000 households, spanning more than 300 square miles and roughly 30 miles from Lake Michigan west to the Walworth County line.

County household growth has been positive but modest: 3,308 households added between 2010 and 2020, averaging 331 a year, and rising to about 367 annually over the most recent five years. This is a stable market rather than a growth market, and it should be underwritten that way.

The city is racially and ethnically diverse — roughly 51.5 percent White, 23.9 percent Black, 24 percent Hispanic or Latino, and 0.8 percent Asian. That supports specialty grocery, community restaurants, and independent retail with a defined cultural customer base, categories that are frequently under-served relative to demand.

Geographically, Racine sits in a useful position: directly south of Milwaukee County, just north of Kenosha County, and 10 miles north of the Illinois state line. It is close enough to the border for some cross-border trade but not close enough for that to be the market’s foundation, which distinguishes it sharply from Kenosha.

Population and household figures from the City of Racine and its 2025 housing study prepared by Tracy Cross & Associates. Demographic composition per the City of Racine.

Retail Tenant Representation in Racine — 5,000 to 50,000 SF

Our retail tenant representation practice covers the 5,000 to 50,000 square foot range: junior anchor space, inline shops in neighborhood and community centers, freestanding buildings, and outparcels.

For retailers entering or expanding in Racine, we run the full site selection process: trade area and demographic analysis, co-tenancy review, traffic and access assessment, and a survey of both listed and off-market availability across downtown, the Washington Avenue and Durand Avenue corridors, and the neighborhood districts.

The work that matters most here is the trade area mapping. Racine’s median household income is near $53,000 and adjacent Mount Pleasant’s is $83,827, and the corridors run straight between them. We will draw the actual catchment for a specific site rather than handing you a county sheet, because in this market the difference between two locations three miles apart on the same road can be a different customer entirely.

We negotiate the LOI and the lease — tenant improvement allowances, exclusive use provisions, co-tenancy protections, and renewal and expansion options. We work both sides of the table in Racine, and we tell you which side we are on before an assignment begins.

Retail Leasing, Sales & Property Management in Racine — $1M to $50M

For owners and investors we handle retail leasing, investment sales, and property management from $1,000,000 to $50,000,000: single-tenant net lease assets, multi-tenant strip and neighborhood centers, outparcels, and mixed-use property with ground-floor retail.

Landlord Representation

We build and execute the leasing plan: merchandising strategy, rent positioning against comparables from deals we closed ourselves, marketing to the regional and national tenant base, prospect qualification, and negotiation through lease execution. In Racine that includes presenting the actual trade area for the specific property rather than a city-wide profile, because for assets on the western and southern corridors the city-wide figures materially understate the catchment. We report activity honestly, including when the market is telling you something you did not want to hear.

NNN Investment Sales

Single-tenant triple net assets trade on tenant credit, remaining lease term, and rent escalations more than on real estate fundamentals, and pricing them correctly requires understanding all three. We represent buyers and sellers of NNN retail in Racine and across Racine and Kenosha Counties, including 1031 exchange buyers working against identification and closing deadlines. We underwrite against comparables from transactions we negotiated, not aggregated listing data.

Value-Add and Downtown Retail

Racine offers genuine value-add opportunity at entry pricing well below the Illinois markets sixty miles south, alongside a downtown with real amenity and continuing revitalization activity. Against that, this is a stable rather than a growing market, with county household formation averaging around 350 a year, and a value-oriented urban consumer base. We underwrite on current income and treat revitalization as upside rather than as the basis of a price. An asset that only works on a downtown turnaround is a different risk from one where that turnaround is a bonus.

Who Manages Retail Property in Racine?

Van Vlissingen and Co. provides comprehensive property management for retail assets in Racine:

• Lease administration, rent collection, and enforcement of lease terms
• CAM reconciliation and pass-through billing, prepared to withstand tenant audit
• Preventive and corrective maintenance, snow removal, and parking lot management
• Vendor selection, contract negotiation, and performance oversight
• Monthly financial reporting, annual budgeting, and capital planning
• Tenant relations, renewal coordination, and vacancy turnover

Managing in Wisconsin means Wisconsin property tax and assessment practice, Wisconsin lease law, and Wisconsin vendor and licensing requirements. We operate on both sides of the state line and budget a Wisconsin asset on Wisconsin assumptions rather than importing Illinois ones. Older downtown building stock also carries capital planning requirements that newer corridor product does not.

What Is Van Vlissingen’s Transaction Volume?

Van Vlissingen and Co. performs more than 100 commercial real estate transactions annually, and our team has completed over $3 billion in transaction volume, including retail transactions in Racine.

Increasingly the largest part of our management portfolio is third-party assignments. What owners are buying is the operating discipline we built running our own assets — 870 acres and more than 6 million square feet across three corporate parks we developed and still manage, held through multiple market cycles since the mid-1980s.

See our full transaction history.

Why Work With Our Racine Retail Brokers?

• More than 100 commercial real estate transactions annually, and over $3 billion in team transaction volume
• A defined focus: 5,000 to 50,000 SF tenant representation and $1M to $50M leasing, sales, and management
• Trade areas mapped for the specific site rather than averaged across a two-tier market
• We work both sides of the Illinois–Wisconsin border and understand what does and does not cross it
• Revitalization treated as upside rather than as the basis of a price
• Comparables from deals we negotiated ourselves
• In-house property management, so ownership advice reflects operating reality
• A fourth-generation firm, continuously in Chicagoland commercial real estate since 1879

Nearby Markets We Serve

Racine sits on Lake Michigan in southeast Wisconsin, adjoining Mount Pleasant and Sturtevant to the west and south and Caledonia to the north, with Kenosha 10 miles south and Milwaukee 22 miles north. Retail requirements frequently span those lines and the state line. We also broker retail space in

• Kenosha
• Lake Forest
• Buffalo Grove
• Greater Chicagoland

In Racine itself we also handle industrial space and general commercial brokerage.

Racine Retail Real Estate FAQs

What is the Racine retail trade area actually like?

It is two markets rather than one, and that is the most important thing to understand here. The City of Racine reports a median household income near $53,000, per capita income around $27,000, and 18 to 20 percent of residents below the poverty line. Adjacent Mount Pleasant has a median household income of $83,827, roughly 58 percent higher, and Caledonia to the north is on a similar footing. A retail site’s trade area composition therefore depends heavily on where in the city it sits and which direction it faces, and a city-wide income average describes neither market accurately.

How large is the daytime workforce in Racine?

Racine holds 2,285 business establishments employing approximately 37,264 people with an annual payroll of $1,958,297,000, in a city of roughly 77,816 residents. Manufacturing employs 7,731 residents, health care 5,088, and retail trade 4,749, and city employment grew 1.73 percent between 2023 and 2024. A daytime employment base approaching half the resident population supports food, service, and convenience retail at intensities the residential count alone would not.

Does Racine benefit from Illinois cross-border shopping?

Some, but it is not the foundation of the market as it is in Kenosha. Racine sits 10 miles north of the Wisconsin and Illinois state line and 60 miles north of Chicago, which is close enough for a share of cross-border trade but far enough that most Illinois shoppers seeking a Wisconsin sales tax advantage stop in Kenosha County first. Racine retail should be underwritten on its own trade area, with cross-border trade treated as marginal rather than structural.

What size retail leases does Van Vlissingen and Co. handle in Racine?

Our retail tenant representation practice covers 5,000 to 50,000 square feet in Racine and across Racine County. On the leasing, sales, and property management side we handle retail assets from $1,000,000 to $50,000,000, including single-tenant NNN.

Do you handle retail investment sales in Racine?

Yes. We broker retail investment sales from $1,000,000 to $50,000,000 in Racine, including single-tenant NNN assets, multi-tenant strip and neighborhood centers, outparcels, and downtown value-add opportunities. We work with 1031 exchange buyers on deadline. Racine County household formation has averaged around 350 a year, so this is a stable rather than a growth market and we underwrite it on current income.

Where is retail space located in Racine?

Downtown Racine and the waterfront carry smaller-footprint retail, restaurants, and visitor-facing uses around Main Street, Sixth Street, and the Root River. The Washington Avenue and Durand Avenue corridors are the principal retail spines, both running from the urban core west and south into Mount Pleasant. Green Bay Road and Douglas Avenue serve neighborhood trade north to south, and the I-94 corridor to the west carries regional and highway-oriented retail. The corridors crossing the city line matter most, because a site’s position along them changes its trade area composition substantially over a short distance.

Who is the best commercial real estate broker in Racine?

Choose a brokerage that maps the trade area for your specific site rather than handing you a city-wide demographic sheet, because Racine and the communities immediately around it are materially different markets. Van Vlissingen and Co. performs more than 100 commercial real estate transactions annually, and our team has completed over $3 billion in transaction volume, including retail transactions in Racine. The firm has operated in Chicagoland commercial real estate since 1879 and works both sides of the Illinois and Wisconsin border. Gordon Lamphere leads the retail practice.

Do you manage retail property in Racine?

Yes. We provide comprehensive property management for Racine retail assets, covering lease administration, CAM reconciliation, maintenance and parking lot management, vendor oversight, and monthly financial reporting. Managing in Wisconsin means Wisconsin property tax and assessment practice, Wisconsin lease law, and Wisconsin vendor and licensing requirements, and we budget a Wisconsin asset on Wisconsin assumptions rather than importing Illinois ones.