Development/Redevelopment

MIAMI — Regency Centers Corp. has announced the development of Fontainebleau Square, a 320,339-sq.-ft. grocery anchored community center, the company’s first ground-up retail development in Dade County.

Fontainebleau Square has signed Publix Sabor (45,600 sq. ft.) and Target (139,751 sq. ft.) as anchors. Construction starts this month, with anchor openings expected as early as October 2014.

NEW YORK — Hudson’s Bay Company has reached a deal to buy Saks Inc. The Canadian retail conglomerate, which operates Lord & Taylor in the United States and Hudson Bay in Canada, will purchase Saks and its 41 stores for a total of about $2.9 billion. Purchase price includes $16 per share of Saks as well as the assumption of Saks’ debt.

Halifax — Walmart Canada on Friday opened its first supercenter in Atlantic Canada, in the Halifax Shopping Centre Annex in Halifax.

The store is one of 37 supercenter projects planned for the company's current fiscal year, which ends January 31, 2014. The projects, which were announced earlier this year, include building new stores and expanding, remodelling or relocating existing stores and represent an investment of more than $450 million in the Canadian economy.

St. Louis — Build-A-Bear Workshop narrowed its second-quarter loss to $6.2 million from $7.5 million in the year-ago period, boosted by improved sales and store productivity.

Total revenues were $81.9 million , up 1.9% from the $80.4 million reported in the second quarter of 2012.  Same-store sales rose 7.3%, including an 8.6% increase in North America and 1.7% increase in Europe. E-commerce sales rose 5.2%.

Walmart has opened its first supercenter in Canada’s eastern Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The retailer, which has operated in Canada for nearly two decades, plans to invest $90 million this year in the renovation and expansion of nine locations in New Brunswick and Novia Scotia.

Alameda, Calif. -- MBH Architects has appointed Klas Eklof and Oliver Mellows as principals for the 170-person firm.

Eklof and Mellows, each both employees of MBH for more than a decade, are looking forward to expanding their leadership roles during a time of exciting growth with increasing portfolios and branded projects, expanding opportunities for the firm.

MBH specializes in retail, residential, hospitality, mixed-use, workspace, and healthcare architecture and design. Their portfolio includes many well-known global clients and projects. 

Canton, Mass. -- Dunkin’ Donuts announced  that it has signed its first Southern California multi-unit store development agreements,  with four franchise groups for a total commitment of 45 locations. 

The first restaurants are expected to open in 2015 in Orange and Los Angeles counties. Some non-traditional Dunkin' Donuts locations may open over the next several months. 

Abilene, Kan. -- Alco Stores Inc. has entered into an agreement to be acquired by private investment firm Argonne Capital Group LLC.

The Atlanta-based Argonne will acquire all the outstanding share of Alco's common stock for $14 per share in cash. The proposed transaction, expected to close later year, would total about $47 million.

Alco's board of directors has unanimously approved the merger agreement and is recommending that shareholders approve it.

San Francisco -- PB Teen, a division of Williams-Sonoma, on July 27 will open its first store in Orange County, Calif., at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.

The store will be anchored around a complimentary PBteen Design Lab, where teens and their parents can engage with the brand and its products by digitally creating a personalized room on a computer monitor. Using drag and drop technology, teens can experiment with different room configurations and color combinations and quickly see their designs come to life on a television screen overhead. 

Sidney, Neb. -- Cabela’s Inc. on Thursday announced it will open four new markets in 2014:  Acworth, Ga., Augusta, Ga.; Missoula, Mont.; and Barrie, Ontario (Canada).  The outdoor goods retailer also reported that its second-quarter net income surged 31% on a 10.5% rise in same-store sales.