Deals

Dayton, Ohio -- A report by the Dayton Business Journal said that the Liz Claiborne distribution center in West Chester, Ohio, will close within the next year.

Liz Claiborne said it plans to close and sell the 900,000-sq.-ft. DC due to “changing business needs,” company spokeswoman Dana Stambaugh told the Journal.

As part of our ongoing coverage of RECon, the annual retail real estate convention conducted by the International Council of Shopping Centers and held May 22-25 in Las Vegas, Chain Store Age talked with Adam Ifshin, president and CEO of Tarrytown, N.Y.-based DLC Management Corp., to get his take – post-convention – about the state of the industry.

What are your key takeaways from RECon 2011?

The mixed-use project MarketStreet Lynnfield continues to forge ahead, as co-developers WS Development and National Development announced on June 6 that Whole Foods Market, Kings and Legal C Bar have signed leases to join the property.

Whole Foods will open a 45,000-sq.-ft. store at MarketStreet Lynnfield, which is located on Route 128/I-95 spanning Exits 42 and 43 in Lynnfield, Mass.

Atlanta -- Jones Lang LaSalle said Tuesday it has been named the new leasing and/or property manager for five retail properties in Arkansas, North Carolina, New York and Ohio.

The portfolio, owned by a variety of institutional investors, includes open-air shopping centers and a single-tenant property in Manhattan.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Borders Group executive VP and chief merchandising officer Michele Cloutier has resigned, Borders said in a late afternoon Friday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

It is the latest in a string of high-level departures from the bookseller as it struggles to emerge from bankruptcy protection.

On Thursday, the company received a deadline extension until mid-October to file a plan to restructure. An attorney for Borders said parts of the company could be sold in as quickly as two weeks.

New York City -- Children's clothing retailer Hartstrings L.L.C., owned by Maryland private-equity firm American Capital L.P., has declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The company, which has 28 stores and a wholesale operation, plans to dissolve the business.

The filing comes a year after the company entered into an agreement with television personality Tori Spelling to develop a children's clothing line under the Little Maven label.

Thinking of opening a store on Manhattan’s Fifth Ave? Be prepared to shell out some hefty rent. The average rent for space along Fifth Avenue’s prime stretch from 49th Street up to 59th Street hit $1,900 per square foot in the first quarter, according to the latest CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Global Retail MarketView. The second-highest U.S. retail market? Los Angeles, with rents of $520 per square foot.

Woodbridge, N.J. -- Fameco Real Estate said that Boardwalk Fresh Burgers and Fries has signed its first lease in New Jersey at Summit Plaza in Hackensack. 

The fast-casual restaurant will open a 2,684-sq.-ft. unit at the Stop N Shop-anchored center and said it is embarking on an aggressive franchised store rollout program with plans to grow to 200 restaurants in the next five years.

Site selection criteria include 1,700-2,500 sq. ft., inline, end cap or freestanding space, and a daytime population of 10,000 within one mile.