Development/Redevelopment

Washington, D.C. — The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has approved the rezoning application for Combined Properties’ Penn Da Plaza in Alexandria, Va. The project will completely redevelop the current retail center and replace it with a mixed-use project containing up to 400 new apartments, 41 townhomes and 35,000 to 45,000 sq. ft. of community retail. Combined Properties plans to anchor the retail component with a specialty grocer.

Columbus, Ohio — REI has signed a lease for a 23,000-sq.-ft. space in Sun Center in northwest Columbus, Ohio, according to Casto, Sun Center’s owner.

The space is part of an existing 60,000-sq.-ft. Hhgregg store. Hhgregg is downsizing its offering to 37,000 sq. ft., which is more typical of the Hhgregg’s prototype. Hhgregg will remain open during the redevelopment. REI expects to open in the fall of 2014.

Chattanooga, Tenn. — CBL & Associates Properties has announced future redevelopment and replacement plans for J.C. Penney anchor locations in the CBL portfolio that are expected to close this year.

J.C. Penney intends to close four locations in the CBL portfolio. They include stores at Hickory Point Mall in Forsyth, Ill., Janesville Mall in Janesville, Wis., Wausau Center in Wausau, Wis., and Northgate Mall in Chattanooga, Tenn. CBL anticipates the closures to occur in the second quarter of this year.

Tejon Ranch, Calif. — Swedish fashion retailer H&M has taken a 22,000-sq.-ft. space in the Outlets at Tejon, which is under construction along Interstate 5 in a trade area stretching from Northwest Los Angeles County to Bakersfield.

Established in 1947 in Sweden, H&M has 3,000 stores in 53 countries around the world.

Tejon Ranch Co. and The Rockefeller Group are developing the 320,000-sq.-ft outlet center.

Houston — Fuddruckers has opened its first Dominican Republic restaurant in Santo Domingo through a partnership with franchisee Eduardo J. Gadala-Maria and Giancarlo Bonarelli.

The 3,500-sq.-ft. unit opened in Galeria 360, one of several new shopping malls in the city. Galeria 360 features 120 stores and restaurants plus a large movie theater.

St. Louis — Bar Louie will open its newest location on January 21 in St. Charles, Mo.

It will be the chain’s fifth Missouri location. The 6,484-sq.-ft.  bar and eatery will seat 241 patrons.

St. Louis – Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. reported declining year-over-year revenues for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013 in a partial preliminary earnings release.

On a preliminary basis, Build-A-Bear reported total fourth quarter revenues of $107 million, down 9% from $118.2 million in the same period a year earlier. Preliminary fiscal year revenues were down slightly to $378 million from $380.2 million.

Warren, Mich. – Art Van Furniture is adding its seventh Chicagoland location in Downers Grove. Renovations are set to begin to transform the two-story 106,000-square-ft. building into a new store scheduled to open in January 2015.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. – Sears Holdings has signed a sublease with Dick's Sporting Goods to occupy a portion of its second floor at the King of Prussia Mall in King of Prussia, Pa. The two-story anchor building will be renovated with Sears maintaining exterior entrances on both levels and the mall entrance on level one.  

Los Angeles – American Apparel has opened a newly remodeled and expanded store in Berlin, Germany. Located in Mitte, the central borough of Berlin, the store was originally opened in February 2007 as American Apparel's third location in the city.