REAL ESTATE

DLC restructures its leasing team; Ressa named senior VP
DLC Management announced several promotions within its national leasing team, chief among them the naming of Chris Ressa as senior VP of the department. A one-time Sherwin Williams real estate rep, Ressa joined DLC as a leasing rep in 2007 and rose through the ranks to become VP of the Midwest region and senior VP of the Northeast/Midwest region before being put in charge of nationwide leasing for this major owner and operator of open-air shopping centers.
Management shakeup at DDR; August is named CEO
DDR fired president and CEO David Oakes and replaced him with 40-year industry veteran Thomas August. A company press release says Oakes’ termination was unrelated to financial or operating results, though DDR showed a net loss of $93.5 million in 2015 after posting income of $91.3 million the previous year.

Now Showing: Stores in classic L.A. movie palaces

Los Angeles’s Broadway Theater District was the first such entertainment strip to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Is the famed alley of theater palaces now poised to make retail history?
RKF taps Cesar to strengthen ties with Latin America

Alex Cesar, who had been running JLL’s retail department in Brazil, has been hired by RKF to head up its Miami office. “Alex will be a crucial driver of our expansion in South Florida and will strengthen the bridge between the Latin American and U.S. retail markets,” said RKF CEO Robert Futterman in announcing the move.
Caruso taps Middlebrook to lead new innovation division

Photo: Matt Middlebrook Heralding it as first for real estate development companies, Caruso Affiliated CEO Rick Caruso announced the formation of a Strategic Development and Innovations division focused on helping retailers harness new technologies serve a complex and fluid customer base.
This big-box retailer is still expanding

PGA Tour Superstore is growing its retail presence even as many other big-box stores downsize. The chain will open a 45,500-sq.ft. store at Woodlands Shopping Center, Houston, in a former Sports Authority location, this fall. It’s the first Houston location for the company, whose controlling owner is Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot.
C-store chain expanding

Sheetz is opening four stores in four different states. The family-owned convenience store chain announced four new locations: Morgantown, West Virginia; Morrisville, North Carolina; St. Clairsville, Ohio; and Bethel, Pennsylvania. All will open by July, 7.
Macy’s May See Changes

Macy’s may be flailing, but the department store icon can’t be accused of taking its struggles lying down. As sales were falling 7.4% in the first quarter of 2016 (numbers that represented the fifth straight quarter of declining sales, and capped off a year in which Macy’s stock prices were nearly halved at 47%), Macy’s continues moving forward on plans to roll out its new off-price Backstage concept – both as a series of new stand-alone stores and as in-store locations integrated inside a number of existing Macy’s stores.
Westfield World Trade Center recruits veterans

A job fair held in New York this week attracted veterans and their family members looking to fill retail positions at the Westfield World Trade Center mall set to open in August. Some 5,000 attended to apply for some 10,000 positions expected to open there and at Fulton Center in the two months.
Wisconsin planning board overturns mall policy in Jo-Ann’s favor

Racine, Wisconsin’s planning commission has overturned the local Regency Mall’s policy to suit the signage requirements of new retailers there, according to a report in The Journal Times. When J.C. Penney closed its doors at the CBL & Associates-owned mall, the vacant space was favorably distributed among three new tenants. All three, however, had issues with the space allotment for their signs.