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High rent blamed for vacant stores on Newbury Street

BOSTON — Dozens of storefronts in one of Boston’s famed shopping areas are vacant, and some are blaming rising rent and high taxes.

City Councilor Josh Zakim said rising demand has led to rising property values, which translates to higher taxes and higher rent costs for businesses.

One of the most recent businesses to move was The Hempest, which had been at 207 Newbury St. for more than 20 years.

“I don’t think any of the stores from 1997 are still here," owner Jonathan Napoli said.

Right now on Newbury Street about 40 storefronts out of 300 are empty, and that’s high for the famed shopping district.

“Newbury street is a great place for realtors to make a profit not retail stores. The games played, like this store if I fail in one year, somebody else will come in. If they fail, somebody else will come in. Every time someone new comes in a realtor will get a little piece of the action," Napoli said.

The Hempest was forced to move because of the rent. Napoli said he's thankful to find a location about a block away at 301 Newbury St., but whether the company will survive is still up in the air.

“It’s very hard because people know exactly where we are, we were basically an institution. There really weren’t too many stores on Newbury street that lasted as long as we had in one spot. So yeah it really hurts business," he said.

Zakim said while Boston-area landlords tend to work with their tenants, many out of state landlords have seen high turnover in their storefronts, and it’s a problem City Council has to grapple with to bolster economic development.