Development/Redevelopment

Austin, Texas -- GBT Realty Corp. announced its acquisition of a prime retail site in the heart of one of the fastest-growing cities in Texas and the U.S. Located in Cedar Park, Texas – a community that has grown over 400% since 2004 – Lakeline Commons is a 1.43-acre site that is shadow-anchored by Target and adjacent to The Home Depot.  

GBT acquired the north Austin outparcel for $1.6 million on March 19 from Regions Bank.  No additional terms are available.

New York -- Prospects for stellar rent growth and low vacancy helped make San Francisco the top-ranked city, followed by New York, in Marcus & Millichap’s 2015 National Retail Index, an annual real estate ranking of 46 major U.S. markets. Rounding out the top five: San Jose (#3); Austin (#4) and San Diego (#5).

Canton, Mass. – Dunkin’ Donuts has signed multi-unit store development agreements with two existing franchise groups to develop seven restaurants in Illinois during the next several years. The two franchise groups and their development plans include:

Aliso Viejo, Calif. -- Johnny Rockets recently signed the largest development deal in the brand's history, with a plan to open 100 restaurants in China, with the first scheduled to open in 2016.

Century 21, the coveted off-price store beloved by fashionistas in the Northeast, has announced that it will be heading south for its next location.

Century 21 will be opening an approximately 85,000-square-foot store – the first anywhere in the nation outside of the Northeast – at Sawgrass Mills in South Florida in the fall of 2016.

Boulder, Colo. -- Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy will open its 30th store, in Los Altos, California, on May 2.
 
Part of the company’s aggressive strategy to expand throughout the Western region, the new store is its third location to open in 2015 and follows three store openings in 2014. Pharmaca has plans to open an additional location in Colorado mid- to late 2015.
 

Chattanooga, Tenn. -- CBL & Associates Properties and Horizon Group Properties have begun construction on the second phase of The Outlet Shoppes of the Bluegrass, near Louisville, Kentucky.

The 53,400-sq.-ft. expansion is scheduled to open this November and will bring eight more retailers to the center including H&M, Abercrombie & Fitch, The Limited Outlet, and Johnny Rockets. The outlet shopping center, located off Interstate 64 between Louisville and Lexington, opened July 31, 2014.

New York -- Cabela’s is looking to grow its Canadian operations with a new store in British Columbia.

Cabela’s could begin construction in Abbotsford, B.C., this year, and could open in fall 2016. The proposed store site is located at 1880 McCallum Road in the newly planned McCallum Junction development off Exit 90 of Trans-Canada Highway 1. McCallum Junction Properties Inc. is the developer.

U.K. toy retailer Hamleys has opened Europe’s largest toy store, a 73,000-sq.-ft. location close to the Kremlin in Moscow. Designed by Fitch, the two-level space is heavy on interaction and is divided into nine themed areas that combine retail and entertainment.

The president of Saks Fifth Avenue has resigned after 15 months at the department store chain’s helm.

Saks parent company Hudson’s Bay Company announced that company veteran Marc Metrick, 41, has replaced Marigay McKee as president of Saks Fifth Avenue.