Integrated Retail Spaces in Apartment and Commercial Buildings

The Service Industry DLC introduces a powerful new feature that merges the worlds of real estate and retail strategy: Apartment and Commercial Buildings now have Retail Space. This feature allows you to set up retail or service firms directly on the ground floor of your apartments and commercial buildings, unlocking new strategic opportunities for your empire.

Each apartment or commercial building can host one retail or service firm on its ground floor. To set up a store, click the [Set Up a Store] button.

The size of the retail shop must match the building footprint of the apartment or commercial building. For example, an apartment with a 2×2 footprint can only host a retail store of 2×2 size.

Benefits and Strategic Value

1. Maximizing Real Estate Potential: This feature allows you to extract even more value from your real estate investments. Instead of relying solely on rental income from apartments or commercial tenants, you can now add a revenue stream by operating a retail or service business in the same building.

2. Strategic Location Synergies: With retail stores located directly within your apartment or commercial buildings, you can capitalize on high foot traffic from the area’s residents and businesses. For example, placing a convenience store or a coffee shop in a busy apartment building creates a symbiotic relationship between your tenants and your retail operations.

3. Cost Efficiency: By combining real estate and retail in a single location, you reduce land usage and the need for separate retail buildings. This approach is particularly valuable in densely populated urban areas where land is scarce and expensive.

4. Enhanced Urban Planning: This feature opens up new opportunities for building mixed-use developments and creating vibrant urban centers. Strategically integrating residential, commercial, and retail activities in one area can increase the overall appeal of your properties and boost their profitability.

How to Activate This Feature

You can enable the following options in the New Game Settings menu:

Apartment and Commercial Buildings Have Retail Space
When this option is enabled, you can set up retail or service firms on the ground floor of your apartments and commercial buildings.

General Store
This setting determines if companies can set up General Stores, which are 2×2 in size. These stores can offer a wide range of products and be located in the retail spaces of apartments and commercial buildings.

Browsing Apartments and Commercial Buildings with Retail Stores

You can view them on the Firms list in the Information Center. Retail stores within apartments are marked with the keyword “In Apartment“. Apartments hosting retail stores are shown with the type of the retail store indicated.