Development/Redevelopment

Kenneth Marshall, a 25-year veteran of the retail real estate industry, has joined Olshan Properties as head of retail. For the last two years, he was VP of development at WP Glimcher.   Marshall began his career in 1991 with Urban Retail Properties and worked there for 12 years, rising to VP of development. He did stints at Westfield, Colonial Properties Trust, and Mid-America before joining Glimcher.  

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.     

Department store retailers are pulling back in the United States, but they are doing just the opposite of the border.   The department store industry is expanding in Canada, the New York Times reported, with several factors driving the growth, including less competition and a stable market.   

Brick-and-mortar retailers such as Walmart and Best Buy are not only surviving online, but are thriving due to their sizable physical assets and digital investments.   That’s one of the main findings of a new report by Moody's Investors Service, which says that while Amazon keeps raising the stakes online and has a decade-plus advantage over other retailers in e-commerce, it still faces intense competition from the likes of Walmart and Best Buy, who are raising the bar online for other physical merchants.   

Chain Store Age magazine is accepting nominations for its 12th annual “Top Redevelopers” listing, which recognizes shopping center owners and developers’ retail redevelopment efforts over the last 12 months. Selections will be based on square footage redeveloped between June 30, 2015 and June 30, 2016, financial investment, and project significance.