Development/Redevelopment

Three-quarters of gross leasable area in American malls are inhabited by stores representing the slowest-growing retail categories.   That’s the basis of a report from CBRE advising mall owners to seriously consider diversifying their tenant mixes. Department stores sales are declining by around 4%, yet they take up 49% of mall space. Apparel stores that form 30% of mall makeup are growing at a 12%, but that’s well below restaurants at 32% and furniture, personal care, and health care stores at above 20%.  

A Japanese lifestyle brand with a devoted following has opened an outpost in one of New York City's most hip neighborhoods that will serve as a model for future expansion.    Muji has opened a 7,300-sq.-ft. store in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. It is the retailer’s seventh store in the greater New York City area. In addition to New York, Muji has six locations in California, one in New Jersey and one in Boston. It plans to add more U.S. stores next year.  

Online home furnishings and decor retailer One Kings Lane is making its temporary foray into brick-and-mortar retail more permanent.   The retailer opened its first-ever physical location, a seasonal pop-up in the posh resort town of Southampton, New York, at the beginning of summer. But the company said the response to the temporary store was so positive that it has decided to make it a permanent space.  

David Weinreb, who took The Howard Hughes Corporation public, will now take the company well into the next decade.   The Dallas-based company announced it has entered into a new employment agreement with Weinreb that runs through 2027. As part of the deal, Weinreb completed the acquisition of nearly two million stock warrants in the company at a cost of $50 million.  

PREIT, which has long been pursuing a strategy of unloading underperforming malls from its portfolio, announced it has sold the Logan Valley Mall for $33.2 million net of credits issued to the buyer. The new owner’s identity was not released.   The Altoona, Pennsylvania, mall -- anchored by Macy's, J.C. Penney and Sears -- had been turning in sales-per-square-foot of $324 versus an average of $475 for the rest of the PREIT portfolio.  

Amazon is stepping up its commitment to machine learning.   The online giant plans to open a new research and development (R&D) hub in Barcelona, dedicated to machine learning. Amazon expects to open the lab in early 2018, according to The Verge.   Amazon plans to hire more than 100 engineers and scientists for the lab.   

A start-up that specializes in melted-sandwiches made from high-quality ingredients is looking to go nationwide.   Melt Shop hopes to grow to 100 locations during the next five years across the U.S. and internationally via franchising, The brand, founded in 2011 in New York, currently operates six corporate-owned locations in New York, one at Mall of America, Bloomington, Minn., and one in King of Prussia, Pa. It recently expanded into the Middle East and will open seven locations in the region, with four opening in Kuwait by March 2018.

Children’s apparel retailer Gymboree Corp is exiting Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a going concern.   The children's apparel retailer won court approval to exit bankruptcy with a reorganization plan that includes a comprehensive recapitalization that will eliminate about $1 billion in debt. It expects to complete its financial restructuring process and emerge from Chapter 11 by the end of the month.