Development/Redevelopment

Beachwood, Ohio -- DDR Corp. announced that CEO Daniel B. Hurwitz will be leaving the company next year, as he and the board agreed not to renew his employment agreement, which expires December 31, 2015.

According to DDR, Hurwitz is expected to remain CEO through 2015 to facilitate a smooth leadership transition.

Hurwitz was named CEO on January 1, 2010, after serving as the company’s president and COO for two years prior. He has worked for DDR in various senior executive capacities since June 1999.

When the Grand Metropolitan Mall opened in 2013 in Bekasi, Indonesia, just east of Jakarta, it did so with an award-winning design.    

There’s a new, farmers market-styled specialty grocer taking root in the Midwest: Fresh Thyme Farmers Market. With former Sunflower Farmers Market CEO Chris Sherrell at the helm, Fresh Thyme emphasizes organic foods and produce at value prices in a convenient neighborhood-store format. The company made its debut in April, in Mt. Prospect, Illinois, and went on to open six additional locations. A total of 60 stores are planned throughout the Midwest by 2019.

Westwood Village, Calif. — Urban Outfitters has opened side-by-side men’s and women’s stores in Westwood Village, Calif. With a 16,556 sq. ft. storefront, the stores are located in two adjacent historic buildings on Westwood Blvd.

CATOOSA, Okla. — Cherokee Nation Businesses has partnered with commercial real estate developer Woodmont Outlets, an affiliate of The Woodmont Company, to potentially locate a new upscale retail development at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa.

CNB has agreed to lease property west of the casino to Woodmont Outlets, which plans to invest $80 million into premium outlet shops to be called “Cherokee Outlets.”
 

North Plainfield, N.J. — David Reiner has joined retail real estate services firm Levin Management as VP of leasing. Most recently, Reiner served as director of real estate for Body Central Stores Inc.

During the past 25 years, he has also has held executive- and management-level retail leasing positions with property owners such as Urban Retail Properties, Colonial Properties Trust, and Simon Property Group.
 

Phoenix — Vestar, a privately-held real estate company in the western U.S. that acquires and manages retail and entertainment destinations, has named Jenny Cushing as assistant VP of leasing. Cushing will be responsible for overseeing and growing the leasing efforts throughout Vestar’s California, Arizona & Nevada projects.

New York — RKF has been selected as the exclusive retail leasing agent for The Factory, a one-million-square-foot, multi-tenant commercial building located in Long Island City, Queens. Situated in the Hunter’s Point section of Long Island City, the retail space at The Factory consists of 23,564-sq.-ft. on the ground floor and 21,854-sq.-ft. on the building’s lower level.

RKF executive VP Barry Fishbach and director Young Kim are bringing the opportunity to market for Atlas Capital Group, who recently acquired the property.

Miami Gardens, Fla. — Palmetto Park, the owner of Palmetto Gardens Plaza, has signed three new leases for the seven-acre shopping plaza located in Miami Gardens. T-Mobile and Cell Phone Repair are both national companies; Lee Nails has a number of other locations throughout Florida.  

Construction on this portion of the plaza is scheduled to be complete by the third quarter of 2015. Construction on a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Store, which will serve as anchor tenant, is underway and will open in the fourth quarter 2014.

NEW YORK — 18 | 8 Fine Men's Salons has leased its first New Jersey locations in Somerset and Essex Counties. Winick Realty Group New Jersey broker Alison Cohen, the exclusive broker for 18|8 Fine Men's Salons in New Jersey, represented the salon in both transactions.