Deals

New York City -- Borders Group said objections from creditors are irrelevant because the company’s liquidation means it will not carry on any contracts with business partners, Bloomberg reported.

Borders is due to seek court approval Thursday to liquidate its 399 remaining stores. The approximate 99 objections from creditors should be overruled, the company said in court papers, as it does not plan to keep or transfer any contracts or leases, the report said.
 

Houston -- Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers said it has leased 8,600 sq. ft. of retail space in Houston to four new tenants.

In The Woodlands, Zoës Kitchen leased 3,018 sq. ft. at Sterling Ridge Village Center, bringing the center to 100% occupancy.  The restaurant is slated to open in December. Optometry office Woodland’s Eye Center leased 2,019 sq. ft. for an October opening at Indian Springs Center, bringing the center to full occupancy.

Los Angeles -- CB Richard Ellis Group said Wednesday that the United States Postal Service (USPS) has awarded CB Richard Ellis a contract to serve as its exclusive provider of strategic corporate real estate solutions nationally.

CB Richard Ellis will provide transaction management services for USPS, including leasing and disposition. USPS’s portfolio consists of approximately 35,000 facilities, totaling over 300 million sq. ft.

Austin, Texas -- Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers said it has leased 15,000 sq. ft. of retail space in Austin, Texas, to six new tenants.

Pure Barre opened a 1,750-sq.-ft. studio at North Hills Town Center, bringing the center to 100% occupancy.

Waterford, Conn. -- Westport, Conn.-based Charter Realty & Development Corp. said it has been hired by Chase Enterprises to lease the 300,000-sq.-ft. Cross Roads Plaza, located in Waterford, Conn.

Cross Roads Plaza is anchored by Lowe’s, BJ’s, Bob’s and Regal Cinema.
 

Huntington, N.Y. -- Oak Brook, Ill.-based Inland Private Capital Corp. announced Wednesday the $40.2 million sale of Huntington Square Plaza, a grocery-anchored shopping center located in Huntington, N.Y., on Long Island.

Toronto-based RioCan Holdings purchased the 116,221-sq.-ft. center, which Inland Private Capital Corp. offered to a group of private tenant-in-common investors in 2004.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Big Lots has acquired 89 Liquidation World stores in Canada and becomes the latest U.S. retailer to pursue growth opportunities north of the border.

The company said it invested $20 million in cash and assumed certain liabilities in order to purchase all outstanding shares, satisfy debt obligations, and acquire all assets and leasehold rights of Liquidation World, an operator of 89 stores offering closeout merchandise. Big Lots currently operates 1,405 stores in the United States.

Melville, N.Y. -- DJM Realty, a Gordon Brothers Group company, said Monday it has been retained to exclusively manage the disposition of all remaining Borders Group and Waldenbooks real estate in the United States. The news came after Borders announced it had abandoned hope that the company could be saved from liquidation.

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Borders Group, which had been holding out hope that a buyer would come forward to save the company, said late Monday it will seek court approval Thursday for a liquidation led by Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers Group.

The bookseller said that, with approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York, it could begin shuttering its 399 remaining stores as early as Friday, and it is expected to go out of business for good by the end of September.

Bentonville, Ark. -- Karen Roberts was named executive VP and president of Walmart Realty on Friday, filling a position vacated by the company’s long time real estate executive Eric Zorn who retired after a 20-year career.

Roberts most recently served as senior VP and chief compliance officer. She will report to Tom Mars,  executive VP and chief administrative officer, whose responsibilities were expanded to include oversight of real estate in the wake of Zorn’s retirement.