Development/Redevelopment

The demise of regional grocer Haggen has been a boon to Smart & Final which grew its store count by more than 10% after acquiring former Haggen locations.

Last December, Smart & Final acquired 33 Haggen lease locations and the company recently announced that it had opened all those locations under its Smart & Final Extra! banner.

Three new Gander Mountain stores are slated to open this fall in Colorado, Pennsyvania and Texas as the St. Paul, MN-based company looks to live up to its billing as the nation’s fastest-growing outdoor retailer.

The new stores, which range from 52,000 to 57,000 square feet are located in Parker, CO, Warrington Township, PA, and Frisco, TX and are among a group of 55 stores the company has opened since 2012, bringing its total store count to 160 units. The company has also remodeled roughly 85 locations since 2012.

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers operates, owns or has an ownership interest in 42 shopping centers nationwide that encompass 14.3 million square feet. The company’s centers are home to more than 3,000 stores operated by 470 different retailers, which affords Tanger President and CEO Steve Tanger a unique vantage point on the retail industry. He spoke recently with Chain Store Age about the outlet shopping industry his father pioneered 35 years ago.

The 300,000-sq.-ft. ONE DAYTONA mixed-use project isn’t scheduled to open for another 18 months, but when it does the unique project looks to set a new benchmark for mixed-use retail real estate developments.

American Girl, an early pioneer of experiential retailing, is set to shake things up again, this time with a digital twist. The company, a division of Mattel, will move its Manhattan flagship from Fifth Avenue to Rockefeller Center, where it will open a totally revamped store concept, reported Racked New York. Created by FRCH Design Worldwide and digital agency MJD Interactive, the store will emphasize customization and personalization.

For developers, architects and commercial construction professionals, designing and building retail spaces is a highly specialized skill that requires experience and considerable expertise to master. While brand standards, design consistency and proven buildout processes lead to some welcome efficiencies, sometimes unavoidable constraints and specific requirements that are mandated both by retailers and landlords can also create unique logistical and development challenges.

Furniture manufacturer Herman Miller will continue its transformation from a maker of modern office furniture to a lifestyle brand with the opening of its first retail store. The store, opening in late 2016, will be located in the company’s recently opened flagship in Manhattan’s Gramercy neighborhood. The non-retail components of the flagship—the Herman Miller and Geiger showrooms—are already open, by appointment.

Mark Horgan has been named executive vice president and chief investment officer at Brixmor Property Group and been give a wide range of responsibilities as the newest member of a revamped senior leadership team.