Once, they were big-box stores – icons of commerce and jobs that could reliably pack parking lots.
Now, call them “ghostboxes.”
In the past month, closure announcements from major chains Ashley Furniture and Smith & Hawken dealt a further blow to the area’s commercial real-estate market.
Then last week, Black Angus suddenly closed its doors at its North Sunrise Avenue restaurant.
That’s on top of home-remodel showroom Expo Daily, which shuttered its massive space off Industrial Boulevard in June.
“It’s tough, because we’ve had some big retailers that have moved out. But even the smaller guys are suffering this time around,” said longtime Roseville Realtor Kirk Doyle.
How bad is it? The most recent estimate from CB Richard Ellis put the Roseville/Rocklin area’s retail vacancy rate at 12.5 percent at the end of the second quarter, which ended June 30. Tenants gave back more than 230,000 square feet during that period, the most of any Sacramento-area community surveyed by the broker.
Here’s a look at some of the most recent closure announcements:

• Ashley Furniture, at 384 North Sunrise, is clearing out merchandise and closing because of the poor economy, store officials said. It could be shuttered by the end of October.
• Expo Daily, at 8880 Industrial Blvd., announced on its Web site it was closed as of last month, but would remain as a “referral source.” A phone number for the company was disconnected.
• Black Angus, at 500 N. Sunrise, closed for good as of July 14, according to a sign taped to a door, which also directed customers to the chain’s restaurant in Citrus Heights. Company officials didn’t return calls.

Roseville and Rocklin have been hit particularly hard because the cities attracted many of the big-box retailers in the good years that have now fallen on tough times, experts said.
When they go under, those retailers – such as Circuit City, Mervyn’s and Home Depot’s Expo subsidiary (not related to Expo Daily), all of which closed last year – have a trickle-down effect on smaller stores nearby.
“They’re the anchor tenants and they tend to draw the people into the centers,” Doyle said.

The news isn’t universally terrible:
• At the Galleria, Urban Outfitters is slated to open later this year at a standalone two-story building that used to house a Borders.
• Also at the Galleria, the former two-story Copeland Sports anchor site will get a XXI, the flagship store of the Forever 21 chain.
• Sacramento-based Zoom Imaging Solutions is moving its main office in Sacramento to the old Roseville Athletic Club building at 200 South Harding, which has sat empty for more than a year.

But in this market, there’s a good chance many of the city’s other large vacancies are going to stay empty for a while, officials said.
“I’m not sure how many people are starting businesses that are needing that amount of space in these times,” said Roseville Deputy City Manager Julia Burrows.
City officials can’t keep troubled chains in business, but they can have an indirect impact on the market by working to strengthen businesses.
Last week, the city received a $73,000 grant of federal stimulus money that will fund a business analyst whom Burrows said could “meet with every business in the city.” The goal is to find ways to improve operations, cut costs, or take advantage of state or federal programs, she said.
Beyond that, planners plan to be flexible in allowing “creative re-uses” for vacant buildings, Burrows said.
“Why does a big box have to stay a big box?” asked Naaz Alikhan, an interior designer with Williams + Paddon Architects + Planners Inc.
For instance, planners could be open to a vacant big-box retailer being used for offices, or a meeting or conference center, she said, though some developers are wary about costs.