REAL ESTATE

Report: Department store closings are overblown
Malls and shopping centers are not endangered, but evolving species, International Council of Shopping Centers CEO Thomas McGee told the Miami Herald this week. “There is stress in the department store segment and closures. When you look at those stores as a percentage of retail square footage, it’s small,” McGee said in a wide-ranging interview with the paper. “But those spaces are big and prominent and they need to be handled in a systematic way.”
Woodbury Common’s makeover is complete
The Italian shoe and handbag retailer Baldinini takes its place among the 240 other hallowed brands at Woodbury Common in Central Valley, New York, this month, but that’s just the punctuation mark on the story of the transformation of Simon Premium Outlets’ star property.

Amazon expanding its bookstore format

Amazon continues to quietly grow its bookstore portfolio. The online giant confirmed it will open an Amazon Books location in Bellevue, Washington — its second in the state and tenth overall — reported ReCode.
Nordstrom Rack expanding

Nordstrom Rack will open a store at Cascade Station in Portland, Oregon. The approximately 28,000-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in fall 2017. This will be the fifth Nordstrom Rack store in the Portland area. Portland is also home to the first stand-alone Nordstrom Rack store, which opened in 1983. The company also operates a full line stores at downtown Portland and Clackamas Town Center.
Retailer continues Canadian expansion

Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th announced plans for two new stores in Canada. The retailer plans to open a location at CF Markville in Markham, Ontario. The approximately 27,000 sq. ft. store is scheduled to open in 2018. “Ontario is a key market for Saks Off 5th in Canada and we’re excited to continue to grow our presence there,” commented Jonathan Greller, president, Saks Off 5th and Gilt, which are part of Hudson’s Bay Company.
Brickell City Centre unveils food hall design

Miami’s recently opened Brickell City Centre has unveiled plans for La Centrale, the 38,000-sq.-ft. Italian food hall that figures to be the huge, mixed-use development’s answer to Eataly in Manhattan’s Chelsea district.
London tops in luxury retail openings

More luxury stores opened in London in 2016 than any other city in the world. The British capital topped the global ranking for new luxury retail store openings in 2016, according to Savills Global Luxury Retail report. The city saw a total of 41 luxury store openings during the year, (of which 15 were the respective brand’s first ever store in London), followed by Paris, with 36 openings, and New York, with 31. Rounding out the top five were Dubai (31), Hong Kong (25) and Milan (24).
The Oaks attains a first in green building standards

The Oaks, a 39-year-old Macerich-owned property in Thousand Oaks, California, has been awarded the first BREEAM green standards certification for an in-use building in the U.S. BRE America, a unit of the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM), bestowed the designation on the Macerich property at an awards event in London this week. BREEAM is the oldest sustainability assessment method for new construction, renovations, and in-use properties.
CBRE staffs up its Bay Area office

CBRE made known its intent to make an aggressive push in San Francisco with its December hire of Matt Kircher, a veteran of Terranomics with more than 20 years of leasing experience in Northern California. This week CBRE filled out the new director of leasing’s executive staff. Joining Kircher are first vice presidents Jessica Birmingham, Annie Prupas, and Katie Singer; vice president Drew Greenspan; associate broker Meaghan Haley; senior GIS specialist Gary Palubicki; and client services coordinator Andrea Chavez.
Vestar is named to manage Carlsbad center

Vestar has been retained as the property manager for Plaza Paseo Real, a grocery-anchored property in Carlsbad, California. With the addition of the 147,848-sq.-ft. center, Vestar will be managing more than 2 million sq. ft. or retail space in the San Diego area. The center off Interstate 5 is anchored by Von's Pavilion and Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas and also houses Wells Fargo, Supercuts, GNC, Laseraway, and Tin Leaf Fresh Kitchen.