Development/Redevelopment

Malls are not going away entirely, but the word “mall” may be an endangered concept.   CBL Properties, one of the nation’s biggest mall operators, with 121 of them in 27 states, has announced a rebranding campaign that that reflects a new strategic direction focused on operating community gathering places, not mere shopping centers.  

Commercial real estate developers and investors surveyed this summer by the DLA Piper law firm concurred that reports of the demise of brick-and-mortar are greatly exaggerated.   Only 8% of the 222 respondents to the survey, most of them C-level executives, agreed with the statement that brick-and-mortar is “doomed.” That said, just 3% were of the opinion that traditional retail was here to say.  

Sprouts Farmers Market is in expansion mode.    Sprouts Farmers Market announced it will open nine new locations in the first quarter of 2018. In total, the natural and organics grocer will open approximately 30 new stores across the country in 2018.  

A new women's apparel store has made its debut in Chicago.    Marcus Lemonis Fashion Group, which is owned by Marcus Lemonis, star of CNBC hit reality series “The Profit,” CEO of Camping World and all-around retail entrepreneur, has opened Marcus, on Chicago's Gold Coast. Additional locations are expected to open within the next six months in Aspen, Col.; Hinsdale, Ill., and New York City.   

Fiorucci is back — and it hasn't lost its cheeky, irreverent attitude.   The brand, which acquired cult status and flourished throughout the 1970s and 1980s before going into a slow decline, was relaunched earlier this year with a new website, new fashions and pop-ups in Barneys New York and Selfridges (London). Capping off its comeback, Fiorucci has opened a 5,000-sq-ft. flagship in London's SoHo neighborhood. A New York City location is planned for 2018.   

Uniqlo is opening a shop in one of the nation's most historic train stations.    The retailer will open its newest U.S. outpost on Oct. 10, at Union Station in Washington, D.C. It will be located on the main level, adjacent to Amtrak ticketing, and will open at 7 a.m. during the week to serve morning commuters.  

It was an urban retail real estate broker’s dream: five blocks of Main Street storefront — almost 250,000 sq. ft. of it — sandwiched between beachfront and commercial business district. That’s what the owners of most of five contiguous blocks on Fort Lauderdale’s Las Olas Boulevard plopped on the plate of Michael Comras.  

Someone forgot to tell At Home that big-box stores are passé. Or that a retailer needs to sell online to be successful.

Since Lee Bird took the reins as chief executive at the beginning of 2013, the Plano, Texas-based home decor superstore retailer has been on a steep upward trajectory — and it shows no signs of losing momentum anytime soon.