Strategy

The tenant mix is neighborhood shopping centers is western states is transforming as centers looking to remain relevant to shoppers and more effectively compete with other types of centers.

Rent-to-own retailer Rent-A-Center Inc. has named Angela Yochem to senior VP, IT and CIO.

Yochem’s responsibilities will include developing Rent-A-Center’s IT talent; expanding recently developed technologies; enhancing the company’s web, online and mobile solutions; and providing technology leadership for new opportunities.

Chain Store Age’s annual search for 10 retail real estate stars under the age of 40 years resulted in this: Ten youthful, creative, hard-charging industry executives.

Some are retailers, others are brokers or from shopping center companies. Three are women. One is under the age of 30. There’s a single Canadian in the bunch. Two work for CBRE. Each has studied the business, sought out mentors, and researched and taken on the issues of the day.

Wayfair Inc. has appointed Chad Ghosn VP of IT infrastructure and security.

Ghosn will oversee a large engineering team that is responsible for scaling Wayfair’s infrastructure system to meet customer demands and company needs. Before joining the online home furnishings retailer, Ghosn led the infrastructure team at Expedia Inc.

Prior to his role at Expedia, Ghosn spent more than a decade in various infrastructure leadership positions at Dell Inc. Previously, he led network operations for Kaiser Permanente.

In Orlando, Florida, one of America’s fastest-growing communities is getting ready to take the next step. Lake Nona – an 8,000-acre, 11-square-mile master-planned community that has already completed more than $3 billion in construction encompassing 7.1 million sq. ft. of world-class residential and commercial facilities over the last 8 years – is moving forward with the next phase of what will ultimately be a 3.8 million-sq.-ft. central commercial district: Lake Nona Town Center.  

When the 300,000-sq.-ft. Shoppes at Mid Rivers opens in late 2017 the project will be the largest retail development the St. Louis area has seen in nearly a decade.   GBT Realty Corporation, a national commercial development company headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, said the $54 million project located in St. Peters, Missouri, will have three anchor tenants, five to seven junior anchors, small shop space and four, approximately one-acre outparcels.  

One of the most successful formats in the history of retailing is about to get a makeover.        Apple Inc. unveiled its vision for the future of its retail empire, opening a two-level flagship in San Francisco with new design flourishes and service elements that will be rolled out to Apple stores worldwide.     

Columbus, Ohio-based Nationwide Realty Investors’ $650 million Grandview Yard development has consistently been in the news over the past several years, as prominent components of the mixed-use project continue to fall into place and new buildings come online.