REAL ESTATE

Quality Trumps Quantity
Shopping center owners added fewer centers in 2016, but demonstrated that less is more
As physical shopping centers battle furiously for customer share, more developers are realizing that bells and whistles aren’t just optional; they’re essential. No matter the size or scope, new shopping centers have to offer something extra to an increasingly discerning consumer — and the group of owners highlighted here is doing just that.
Local chef to curate Gainesville food hall
Deborah Butler’s vision to remake her family’s Gainesville, Florida, retail complex into a unique, local phenomenon got a little clearer this week. Butler has put noted local chef and restaurateur Bert Gill in charge of curating the dining establishments at the Stengel Field Food Hall at Butler Town Center, scheduled to open in 2018. It takes its name from the aviation school run on the site in the 1940s and ‘50s by pioneering pilot Carl Stengel.

The Best at Managing Change

Opportunistic acquirers continue retail’s reinvention, making business good for creative management companies
Unusual circumstances are forging the best of times for third-party shopping center managers. Rampant store closings, after-effects of the commercial mortgage backed securities crash, and opportunistic buyers are creating opportunities for innovative managers to reinvent properties for their clients.
Wegman’s to anchor new NRDC center

National Realty & Development Corp. landed the first anchor for its new project in Middletown, New Jersey, and it’s a whopper.
The Discipline of the Deal

Whether purchasing individual assets or restructuring entire portfolios, top acquirers have plans and stick to them.
Stick to your knitting. That appears to be the mantra for this year’s top acquirers, all of which, save one, have appeared on this list in previous years. Most relate that, in the late stages of a recovery, discipline, tenacity and structure are key to closing deals. This year, staffers at two of these tenacious companies can chant, “We’re No. 1!”
Coradino sees ‘new mall’ rising

CEO Joe Coradino and PREIT are serious about recapturing vacant department store space and refilling it with new customer experiences. Just weeks after the opening of a Legoland Discovery Center at its Plymouth Meeting Mall in the Philadelphia suburbs, PREIT announced it had executed a lease at that property with 5 Wits, a live-action entertainment concept that immerses people into one of three adventures: Tomb, Deep Space, or Drago’s Castle.
Big-box bonanza is destined for Staten Island

Joshua Weinkranz
Abilene to get largest shopping center in a decade

Prestige Development Group is about to break ground on a 171,027-sq.-ft. shopping center in Abilene, Texas. Nearly 85% of The Shops at Abilene Village are pre-leased by a tenant lineup that includes Burlington, Petco, and Academy Sports + Outdoors. It will be the first store in the Abilene market for Burlington, and Academy is relocating from a 50,000-sq.-ft. location to claim 72,000 sq. ft.in of space at The Shops.
New owner hopes to keep 70 Gander Mountain stores open

Things may not be bad as they first looked for Gander Mountain Company. Although there is a banner on the bankrupt company’s website announcing that all of its stores are going out of business, its new owner says that’s not exactly the case.
Actress opening second store

Sarah Jessica Parker is expanding her brick-and-mortar retail business. The actress, producer, and designer will open her second freestanding store, in Las Vegas. The SJP by Sarah Jessica Parker store will be located at the Bellagio Resort & Casino and open this summer.