Development/Redevelopment

Petco has named William Engen senior VP of retail market expansion, a newly created role dedicated to optimizing the company’s investments in store growth.    Engen, who joins Petco from Wingstop Restaurants, where he served as COO, will be in charge of real estate, construction, and store design. He previously served in senior operations roles at 7-Eleven and Circuit City.  

Petco appointed retail veteran John Zavada as senior VP and CIO.   In his new position, Zavada will lead Petco's information technology strategies, teams and projects, including the company's business process optimization and enterprise program management office.    Prior to joining Petco, Zavada served as senior VP and CIO at Restoration Hardware. He also held CIO positions at Guitar Center, Big Lots, Limited Inc., and Victoria's Secret Stores.  

Kmart continues to shrink.   The chain is closing another 64 stores, Marketwatch.com reported.   The latest round of closings are in addition to a decision by Kmart parent Sears Holdings Corp. last April to close 68 Kmart stores this year, the report said.   Kmart operated 941 stores as of Jan. 30, meaning it has now announced plans to close about 14% of its locations.

Casto has been successful building shopping centers in Ohio for 70 years because it’s not afraid to shift with the times, Don M. Casto III said in yesterday’s edition of the Columbus Dispatch.   The company has increasingly joined forces with other developers on mixed-use projects and turned back to its roots of building residences and retail buildings in downtown Columbus, the paper reported.   

Restoration Hardware Holdings has entered the Austin market with the latest generation of its design gallery store format.   The new RH Austin, The Gallery includes an entire floor dedicated to the retailer’s new RH Modern concept, with an integrated contemporary art gallery.    It also includes an interactive design atelier, a professional workspace that allows customers, designers and architects to conceptualize and customize a home.  

The nearly 3 million-sq.-ft. American Dream retail and entertainment center in the New Jersey Meadowlands has moved one step closer to completion.   On Thursday, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which owns the site, voted for a second time to issue $1.15 billion in bonds to finance the completion of the long-delayed project after a non-profit group had threatened to file a law suit to block the sale, NorthJersey.com reported.   

Saks Fifth Avenues’ value-luxury brand opened its fourth Virginia outlet this week in Springfield, just outside of Alexandria.   The new store occupies a 30,000-sq.-ft. space on two levels in the PREIT-owned Springfield Town Center, its first mall location in the Washington, D.C., area.   

Nordstrom is continuing to grow its footprint in Canada.     The retailer on Friday opened its store at CF Toronto Eaton Centre, the company's second international flagship location since opening at Pacific Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, last fall.