Development/Redevelopment

Irvine, Calif. -- Irvine Company has announced it will begin a transformation $30-million reinvestment in Woodbridge Village Center located in Irvine, California. The redevelopment of the center includes upgrading the retail, dining and entertainment mix to complement longtime favorites, freshen the architecture for a coastal California feel, and create an expansive outdoor setting for dining, relaxing and community gatherings that overlooks North Lake.

Houston -- Baker Katz announced that construction on an 8,000-sq.-ft. building that is 100% leased to AT&T, Frost Bank and Chipotle is underway.

Baker Katz acquired this property last year with plans to revamp the property into a multi-tenant destination. The property is located in Houston, Texas at the intersection of I-10 East and Haden Road in business district and ship channel area.

Publix Super Markets is entering the eastern portion of the North Carolina market.

Publix will be coming to Greenville Square, a 150,000-sq-ft center, formerly anchored by K Mart, which will be completely renovated with a new façade, parking lot, lighting package and landscaping. The 49,000-sq-ft Publix will open in 2017 along with several new national, regional, and local tenants.

Brodyco is the developer for the partnership of David Brody, Hyman Brody, and Robert Beller, who purchased Greenville Square in 2005.

Checkers Drive-In Restaurants is employing a high-tech solution to help it expand throughout the United States.

The fast-casual chain has partnered with Buxton to identify growth opportunities for Checkers & Rally's restaurants. The company, which operates and franchises both Checkers and Rally's restaurants, currently has more than 800 locations nationwide.

A modular cabinet and hardware system has given upscale men’s clothing retailer Hammer Made an important degree of flexibility at Ridgedale Shopping Mall location in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

Inventory at the upscale men’s clothing shop fluctuates often. Consequently, it was critical that the display cabinets create the impression that the shelves were always stocked, regardless of the actual inventory level at hand.

March promises to be a busy month for Shopko.

The retailer will open 10 Shopko Hometown stores in late March, bringing its total number of stores opened this year so far to 12.

The company plans to continue to accelerate the expansion of its Hometown format with additional locations through 2017. Developed over the past five years to augment Shopko’s larger store model, the concept is focused on serving the needs of smaller rural communities. Stores average 15,000 sq. ft. to 35,000 sq. ft.

There may be debate among presidential candidates about whether experience is a positive or negative attribute, but for open-air centers, experience is a must. With the ease of online shopping, today’s consumers need a reason beyond the chance to visit their favorite stores to make a trip to their local center.

Need to fill empty space? Walk-in medical clinics hold a lot of tenant promise, as regional companies such as New York’s City Practice Group and national chains such as Humana’s Concentra increasingly find homes in spaces vacated by shuttered retailers in strip malls and shopping centers.

Hospitals are also getting in the game. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, for example, is building clinics in retail settings throughout the Nashville metro area.

If you’re after a hot tenant, look no further than food.

From food trucks to high-end restaurants and everything in between, dining has never been more essential to the shopping center experience. “E-commerce has made it more important for retail centers to enhance the experience,” said Terry Montesi, CEO, Trademark Property Co. “And food works great with retail.”

The federal government has extended the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for solar energy investments through 2019. It provides businesses that install solar panels a tax credit equal to 30% of the total solar installation price. The credit will ramp down to 26% in 2020, 22% in 2021 and to 10% in 2022 for commercial solar installations.