Development/Redevelopment

Miami Gardens, Fla. -- Palmetto Park has broken ground on the inline space at Palmetto Gardens Plaza, a 63,000-sq.-ft. shopping center located at 3799 NW 167th St. in Miami Gardens, Florida. Anchor tenant Wal-Mart Neighborhood Store was recently completed and is now open.  

Peoria, Ill. -- Apparel and accessories retailer Leopard Boutique will open a 1,273-sq.-ft. store at The Streets of St. Charles, in Peoria, Illinois. The trendy boutique has finalized its lease and will join the mixed-used development in May as the newest retail store in the development.

Leopard Boutique will be located in suite 150 at the ground level near the cross streets of Beale Street and Nichols Road at the base of the five-story luxury residential apartment building that is currently 85% occupied.

Seattle -- Nordstrom on Friday opened the doors to its store at Rideau Centre in Ottawa, Ontario. The 157,000-sq.-ft. store is the retailer’s second location to date in Canada.

"We are thrilled to welcome Nordstrom to Rideau Centre, which is a major milestone and component in the shopping centre's $360 million multi-year redevelopment project," said John Sullivan, president and CEO, The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited.

Greensboro, N.C. – The Fresh Market Inc. will close its remaining stores in California, which include locations in Palo Alto, Santa Barbara and Laguna Hills, by March 31 in order to focus on higher growth opportunities. The decision comes even as adjustments to promotions and pricing helped drive impressive fourth quarter results.

By Ryan Condren, CPEX Real Estate

Open-air centers go far beyond shopping

Largest U.S. retail development to open since 2006

Perhaps nothing signifies the resurgence of the U.S. retail market, both on a macro and micro level, more than the long-delayed opening of Downtown Summerlin, in Las Vegas. Opened in October, the open-air center is the largest retail development to debut in the United States since the economic downturn. It has quickly ramped up to become not only one of the hottest retail destinations in the Las Vegas region, but in the entire Western part of the country.

The store is back, baby! That was the message I heard again and again at the National Retail Federation’s 2015 Annual Convention in New York City. It was sounded by retailers, consultants and tech suppliers alike as they rushed to explain the relevance of offline retail in an omnichannel world.

But the truth is the store never went away in the first place. Sure, some retailers are retrenching and reducing (or, in today’s PC lingo, “rightsizing”) their portfolios. It’s especially evident in the apparel sector, with some teen brands particularly hard hit.

The Fresh Market will cede some of its market share to its biggest competitor even as it posted strong fourth quarter earnings and an upbeat outlook for 2015.

The company announced that it would be exiting California by the end of this month and closing all three of its remaining stores there, as it focuses on its stores in the eastern part of the United States. The company also cited slower “organic store growth” as another reason for the decision.

Residents of Texas and Oklahoma will have two more places to buy guns this month when new Gander Mountain Company stores open with huge firearms departments.

Gander Mountain will open two new locations in Texas and Oklahoma on March 12. The new store in Killeen continues the brand's major expansion into the Texas market and will be the 20th store in the state. The new location in Tulsa marks Gander Mountain's entry into Oklahoma and the 27th state overall.