Development/Redevelopment

7-Eleven is in the process of widening its presence in New Jersey from the New York City suburbs to southern shore towns.   The convenience store chain’s leasing company in the area, R.J. Brunelli, says it is searching for 2,800-sq.-ft. to 3,000-sq.-ft. free-standing or end cap units in Union, Ocean, Monmouth, Mercer, and Middlesex counties. Suburban sites must be situated on roads with minimum traffic counts of 15,000 vehicles a day and must have lot sizes of at least 12,000 sq. ft. to accommodate 10 parking spaces.

Phillips Edison & Company, a leading national player in grocery-anchored centers, has promoted David Wik to senior VP of acquisitions.   In his past six years with the company, most recently spearheading growth in the Southeast, Wik sourced the acquisition of more than 100 assets representing $1 billion-plus in investments for the company’s several REITs. He previously worked in acquisitions at Midland Atlantic Development.  

Frontgate is looking to create a unique shopping experience at its new location in Dallas.       The luxury home decor and furnishings retailer will open what it called its first experiential store in late May, in the Dallas suburbs. The 22,000-sq.-ft. store will be located at Legacy West, a luxury retail development in Plano, Texas.     Frontgate reaches most shoppers through its catalogs and website. The also company operates a handful of brick-and-mortar locations. 

Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer with nearly 1.5 million associates, plans to add 10,000 new retail jobs in its upcoming fiscal year, which begins on February 1, 2017.   The discounter says the new jobs will be created through the opening of 59 new, expanded and relocated Walmart and Sam’s Club facilities as well as e-commerce services.    

New York-based Clarion Partners has acquired Brookside Shops, a Trader Joe’s-anchored center in Acton, Massachusetts. The company did not disclose the purchase price.   “Brookside Shops is a well-positioned retail center with excellent fundamentals located in a highly affluent trade area,” said Clarion director Gary Rufrano.  

PGA Tour Superstore is celebrating the opening of its 28th U.S. store.   The privately held retailer has opened a store in Glendale, Arizona, its fifth location in the western state. Two more locations are in the works for 2017, with one in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and another in Jacksonville, Florida.  

Wawa has big plans for the Sunshine State.    The privately-owned, Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain plans to open 25 to 30 stores every year throughout Florida during the next several years.   In 2017, Wawa will start its push into the southeast part of the state, with a first wave of stores opening in Palm Beach and Broward Counties.  

After nearly 30 years of doing business in the MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana, California, Nordstrom has announced it will be shuttering the location.  

The new owner of the 550,000-sq.-ft. Lakeview Square Mall in Battle Creek, Michigan, finds itself in a common quandary among property owners today -- launching an all-points search for retailers to fill the hole left by a closing Macy’s.  

Look for J.C. Penney to close some stores as it moves forward.    In remarks at the The Weitzman Group’s annual forecast event, Penney CEO Marvin Ellison said the company’s 1,014-store portfolio is too large and that the retailer is analyzing which locations don’t meet its “brand standard,” the Dallas Business Journal reported.