Development/Redevelopment

Kansas City -- Taubman Centers and The Macerich Company announced a joint venture for Country Club Plaza location in Kansas City, Missouri from Highwoods Properties. The mixed-use retail and office property was purchased for $660 million cash, excluding transaction costs. Taubman and Macerich each own a 50% interest in the center.

Sam Dushey took the reins of his family-owned business, discount department-store chain Shoppers World, when he was just 27. The company was founded by his grandfather, an immigrant from Syria, in the 1930s, and then expanded upon by Dushey’s father, uncle and cousin.

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.

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.

Fort Worth, Texas -- Trademark Property Co. announced that it is under contract to purchase 3.5 acres of land adjacent to its 278,000-sq.-ft. WestBend mixed-use development in Fort Worth, Texas. The parcel is located on University Drive immediately south of WestBend, along the Trinity River.

Amazon.com is continuing to expand its network of physical pickup points at colleges and universities across the U.S.

Amazon has recently announced agreements to open staffed pickup locations at the The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Akron.

Opening this summer, this 2,509-sq.-ft. space at the University of Texas will be located in Gregory Gymnasium. Additionally, Amazon Student and Prime members will receive free one-day pickup for orders placed by 10 p.m. on more than two million items.

Columbus, Ohio -- CASTO, The Daimler Group and The New Albany Company announced a joint venture to develop a large scale, mixed-use property, comprising 320 acres located in Columbus, Ohio at State Route 161 and Hamilton Road interchange.

Hamilton Quarter when completed will include over 700,000 sq. ft. of office space, 1 million sq. ft. of retail, restaurant, and entertainment space, up to 800 multi-family units, and 130 senior living units, as well as hospitality and other destination oriented venues.

There has been a great deal of discussion and analysis in recent years regarding the ongoing struggles of many traditional department store giants. Brands like Sears, J.C. Penney and Macy’s are scratching and clawing to continue to stay afloat, together with a number of big-box retailers that are also struggling to remain competitive in an evolving retail marketplace.