REAL ESTATE

Chicago to be home to world’s first…
Nutella is setting up shop on Michigan Avenue. Ferrero, the makers of the popular hazelnut spread, will open their first owned and operated restaurant, Nutella Café, on May 31. The two-level café is located one block from Millennium Park.
Lidl to make U.S. debut June 15—with low, low prices
German discount grocer Lidl is set to shake up the competition with prices that promise to turn up the heat on its U.S. competitors, who are already engaged in a price war. Lidl on Wednesday revealed the locations of the first 20 stores it will open this summer in the United States, starting on June 15. (See end of story for listing). The stores — in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia — are the first of up to 100 locations the grocer plans to open across the East Coast by next summer.

Crayola Experience boosts Texas center conversion

The story of the reinvention of a mall into a multi-use development got more colorful this week. Crayola Experience announced it will place its fourth U.S. location in The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano, Texas, a Starwood mall that is adding a seven-story office tower, an expanded dining district, and the North Texas Performing Arts Center in a top-to-bottom transformation.
Report: Discount Drug Mart to be anchor tenant at former Giant Eagle location

Discount Drug Mart will take over a long-vacant anchor space here at a former Giant Eagle location at The Shoppes of Oakwood Square, something that may give a big boost to the shopping center, reported Columbus Parent. DDM signed a 15-year lease to occupy about 30,000 sq.-ft. of space, the news outlet added.
Massachusetts mall 100% leased for first time in 30 years

Leasing agent Dan Waldman clearly hasn’t read all the news reports about the demise of the American mall. In 2015, when Waldman took over leasing for the Walpole Mall in Walpole, Massachusetts, 80,000 of the property’s 400,000 sq. ft. lay vacant. This week, his Waldman & Associates announced that the mall was 100% leased for the first time in 30 years.
Chicago’s largest grocer to buy Strack & Van Til stores

Jewel Food Stores (Jewel-Osco), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Albertsons Companies, is expanding its footprint in Indiana. Jewel-Osco said it has entered into an asset purchase agreement with Central Grocers to acquire 19 Strack & Van Til stores and other certain assets. Strack & Van Til is owned by Central Grocers, which filed for bankruptcy protection at the beginning of May.
Legendary outdoor gear retailer to open first urban store

L.L. Bean is going to set up camp in Boston. The Freeport, Maine-based retailer will open its first permanent, full-line store in an urban location in spring 2018, in the Seaport District of Boston. The store will feature active and casual apparel, outerwear, and footwear, as well as outdoor lifestyle gear curated for residents and visitors of Boston. At 8,600 sq. ft., the Boston outpost will be significantly smaller than Bean’s traditional retail footprint.
Anchors wanted for two South Carolina centers

Southeastern Grocers’ announcement it would close six Bi-Lo stores in South Carolina leaves two Wheeler centers anchors, and the REIT has put out a call out for replacements. CEO Jon S. Wheeler said his company would entertain a grocer or non-grocer to fill the vacancies at Cypress Shopping Center in Boiling Springs and Shoppes at Myrtle Park in Bluffton. Bi-Lo will shut down operations at the 47,260-sq.-ft. Cypress store and the 37,900-sq.-ft. Myrtle Park store in June.
Inland acquires Chicago-area multifamily property

Inland Real Estate Acquisitions has purchased an 85-unit residential property with ground floor retail in Vernon Hills, Illinois. Constructed in 2010, The Commons at Town Center is a six-story structure consisting of 85 multifamily units and 10,609-sq.-ft of retail space. Current tenants are Sam Martirano Salon & Spa, Hawthorn Dental Associates, Eight Piece Rolls, Design Studio Jewelry, and Giuseppe’s Pizza Restaurant.
CBL sells two Tennessee malls, culminates portfolio initiative

CBL continued to reduce its credit position with the disposition of mall assets this week and announced the dawning of a new day for the company. The mall owner and developer closed on the sale of two Tennessee properties for a total of $53.5 million — Foothills Mall in Maryville and College Square in Morristown. Proceeds of the sales, CBL reported, were used to reduce outstanding balances on its lines of credit.