Development/Redevelopment

Former Safeway real estate executive Dan Clayton has joined Denver-based Laramie Company as VP leasing. He previously served as real estate director at Safeway and in his new role will focus on tenant representation and project leasing.

Westchester, Ill. -- Tri-Land Properties announced Thursday that Marshalls and Qdoba Mexican Grill have joined the company’s projects in Indiana and Minnesota.

At Southern Plaza, a 335,000-sq.-ft. Indianapolis shopping center anchored by Kroger and Office Depot, Marshalls has opened a 24,084-sq.-ft. store.

At Century Plaza, a 300,592-sq.-ft. shopping center located in Merrillville, Ind. anchored by Staples and Old Time Pottery, Qdoba Mexican Grill has opened a 2,700-sq. ft. Mexican fast-casual restaurant.

Corpus Christi, Texas -- Trademark Property said Thursday that its La Palmera shopping center has been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver for Core and Shell 2.0 established by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Acquired in partnership with International Mall Investors in July 2008, the 1-million-sq.-ft. regional mall located in Corpus Christi is the first in the U.S. to receive the designation.

Ridgeland, Miss. -- Renaissance at Colony Park announced that Brooks Brothers is joining its tenant lineup and is scheduled to open a 7,500+-sq.-ft. store in Ridgeland, Miss., in November. Currently, the nearest Brooks Brothers stores to the Jackson (Miss.) metropolitan area are in New Orleans and Memphis.

Other recent openings at Renaissance at Colony Park include Another Broken Egg Café and Apricot Lane Boutique. Opening soon are SOMA Intimates and Altar’d State Christian Stores.

Benbrook, Texas -- The City of Benbrook, Texas, announced Wednesday a new partnership with customer analytics firm Buxton to develop a new regional shopping center The Trails Town Center.

The public -private partnership will build a 1.5 million-sq.-ft., open-air, regional shopping and entertainment development projected to generate $375 million in annual retail sales and provide 6,250+ jobs.

New York City -- Tourneau opened a new concept store in Manhattan. The 3,135-sq.-ft. space offers a dramatic departure from traditional jewelry and watch stores in that it does not have counters. Instead, it features a series of long tables in the main showroom that can be approached from all sides.

Tourneau employees, equipped with iPads in hand, unlock the cases when customers want to look at a watch.

The new store was created by San Francisco-based architecture firm Eight Inc., which has also worked on the Apple stores.
 

New York City -- What topics interested retailers most in the first half of 2011? The most popular stories with chainstoreage.com readers from January through June ran the gamut, from the top 10 retail markets for 2011 to Dollar General’s ambitious expansion. Take a look at our top 10 most popular stories: 
 
1. Top 10 retail markets for 2011

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Ross Stores will celebrate on July 16 the opening of its 1,000th Dress for Less store in North Pleasant Hill, Calif. 

Ross Stores' announcement of its 1,000th Dress for Less store follows strong monthly and quarterly sales and earnings, as the company continues to thrive in the down economy.