Development/Redevelopment

Conshohocken, Pa. -- Ikea has submitted plans to the city of Joliet, IL for a second distribution center – to accompany the center previously announced and planned to open in summer 2017.

In February 2015, Ikea advanced the development of its previously approved 1.4-million-sq.-ft. Midwest distribution center on 72 acres of land already purchased in Joliet/ The company is now proposing another, similarly sized facility on 62 acres it hopes to purchase adjacent to the west of the currently planned first building.

New York -- Swedish fast-fashion giant Hennes & Maurtiz AB (H&M) on Wednesday unwrapped its largest store in the world, in New York City’s Herald Square. The 63,000-sq.- store, which is located across from Macy’s, has a custom illuminated store front that wraps around 33rd Street, 34th Street and 6th Avenue. It is the retailer’s 13th store in New York City.

Menomonee Falls, Wis. - Kohl’s Corp. is preparing to open a store in southern New Jersey called "Off Aisle by Kohl's," a name that suggests the company may be following the lead of other retailers opening off-price formats.

Winston-Salem, N.C. - Krispy Kreme (will open 31 stores in South Africa during the next five years. The coffee retailer has signed a development agreement with KK Doughnuts SA (Pty) Ltd, that will mark its first venture into Africa.

Krispy Kreme has more than 1,000 stores in 24 countries.

Columbia, Md. – The Howard Hughes Corp. has signed several retail and restaurant leases for the public promenade at The Metropolitan Downtown Columbia, a new luxury apartment community located in Columbia, Maryland. As part of the transformation, The Howard Hughes Corp. recently completed the renovation of the historic Rouse Building into a flagship Whole Foods Market and a 27,000-sq.-ft.luxury spa and wellness center, as well as kicked off a multi-stage renovation of Merriweather Post Pavilion.

Corte Madera, Calif. - RH (Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc.) is reportedly planning to open a more than 70,000-sq.-ft. RH Gallery format store at the Tivoli Village upscale shopping center in Las Vegas. According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, the store would be the largest Restoration Hardware location in the U.S.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has signed a 42,000-sq.-ft. lease to open a Neighborhood Market at Nor-Dan Shopping Center in Danville, Virginia. The store is planned to open in 2016 and will employ approximately 95 people.

Nor-Dan Shopping Center is a 161,428-sq.-ft. community center anchored by Big Lots and It's Fashion Metro, operated by Phillips Edison & Co.

The Walt Disney World Resort is doubling the size of its retail operation and adding some hot new tenants as part of a major expansion and rebranding of the shopping, dining and entertainment area known as Downtown Disney.

Disney Springs is the new name Walt Disney World Resorts is going with for the expanding waterfront retail operation in the Orlando suburb of Lake Buena Vista. Fashion retailers Zara, Tommy Bahama, Lilly Pulitzer, UNIQLO and PANDORA are the latest to sign on as Downtown Disney continues its expansion into Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort.