Development/Redevelopment

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- Home furnishings retailer West Elm will make its Michigan debut when it opens a store in downtown Birmingham, on Oct. 2.

The 15,000-sq.-ft. plus store will feature a curated selection of products made in Michigan, part of West Elm’s Local initiative. The initiative, launched this year, taps into local entrepreneurship by empowering the teams in West Elm stores to find area makers and designers, building and nurturing a creative network that celebrates craftspeople and differentiates the brand with regional assortments.  

Atlanta -- Assurant Solutions and Nebraska Furniture Mart celebrated the 10th anniversary of their relationship by signing a multi-year contract extension recently, covering underwriting and administration of extended service contracts on appliances and electronics.

Minneapolis -- Target plans to open its sixth TargetExpress store, in the South Park area of San Diego, in July 2015.

At approximately 19,000 sq. ft., the store will be about 14% of the size of a standard Target store (135,000 sq, ft.). Similar to other TargetExpress locations, it will offer an edited assortment that is locally relevant.

Columbus, Ohio -- Washington Prime Group announced Tuesday it will acquire shopping center REIT Glimcher Realty Trust in a deal worth $4.3 billion.

Washington Prime Group, a Bethesda, Maryland-based REIT, and Glimcher will combine under a new name WP Glimcher, with headquarters remaining in the current Glimcher offices in Columbus, Ohio.

The newly combined company will remain publicly traded.

Philadelphia -- The Mills announced plans for a multimillion dollar renovation of Franklin Mills, the largest outlet and value retail shopping destination in the Philadelphia region. The redevelopment will transform the center into a completely new shopping experience, and the name of the property has been changed to Philadelphia Mills to herald the transformation.

Northbrook, lll. -- StreetMac LLC and an affiliate of Five Mile Capital Partners LLC announced redevelopment plans for the 1.3 million-sq.-ft. Stratford Square Mall, located in Bloomingdale, Illinois. The center’s anchor tenants include Macy’s, Carson Pirie Scott, Sears, Kohl’s, Burlington Coat Factory and the 16- screen Century Theatre movie complex.

Goya Foods plans to open a state-of-the-art distribution center in Georgia to aid with the expansion of their business in the southeast region.

Located at 4005 Haworth Pkwy., in McDonough, the facility will be officially inaugurated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, Sept. 17, between 10:30 a.m. and 2p.m. McDonough’s Mayor Billy Copeland will be present for the ceremony.

Aliso Viejo, Calif. -- Johnny Rockets announced a new concept, called Johnny Rockets Route 66, which will take the form of four prototypes: drive-thru, drive-in, food truck and pop-up. The first prototypes are to debut as early as fourth quarter 2014.

The drive-thru prototype is targeted for high volume, regional travel plazas located off major freeways and highways. It will range from 1,800sq. ft. to 3,300 sq. ft. and feature an optimized menu, digital projectors and technology to enhance the guest experience.
 

Columbus, Ohio – DSW Inc. plans to open four new stores on Sept. 18. The new stores will be located at the Pinnacle Promenade in Rogers, Arkansas, Ingram Festival in Ingram, Texas, Waugh Chapel Town Center in Crofton, Maryland, and Evansville Pavilion in Evansville, Indiana.

Stores offer the DSW Rewards loyalty program, and customers can also participate in the Shoe Lovers program on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Leading shopping center owner and operator DDR Corp. announced that CEO Daniel B. Hurwitz and the board of directors have decided not to renew his employment agreement, which expires December 31, 2015. It is anticipated that Hurwitz will remain CEO through 2015 to ensure a smooth leadership transition.