Development/Redevelopment

Fredericksburg, Va. -- Youngstown, Ohio-based Cafaro Co. said that J. Jill will open a new store at Spotsylvania Towne Centre. The 3,700-sq.-ft. location is slated to open in July at The Village at Towne Centre, between Firebirds Wood Fired Grill and Cache.  

J. Jill will join The Buckle, opening April 25, and Chico’s, which is expected to open May 1.

Boston -- Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services said that it has named Thomas Gorman regional manager of its Boston and Providence, R.I. offices.

Gorman has been serving as the sales manager in the Philadelphia and Washington D.C. offices since November 2011, and is charged with expanding the Boston and Providence offices.

Denver -- Brixmor Property Group said that Walmart Neighborhood Market will open a 55,669-sq.-ft. store at Villa Monaco, located in Denver.

The addition of this market will revitalize the shopping center, said Brixmor, attracting new retailers, restaurants and services to the center, and providing the community residents a convenient place to shop within their own neighborhood.  

Washington, D.C. -- Combined Properties announced that Scott Kend has joined the company as senior director of development & acquisitions, charged with leading Combined's efforts to acquire new value-add retail shopping centers and mixed-use development projects on the West Coast.  

Kend will also be responsible for redeveloping portions of Combined's portfolio of retail centers in the Southern California region, as well as working on its mixed-use developments.  

Denton, Texas -- The MGHerring Group and Cencor Realty Services said that The Buckle will open a store at Golden Triangle Mall, located in Denton, Texas.

Buckle will occupy 5,040 sq. ft. and will open in fall 2013. In addition, the list of new tenants includes food court eateries Italia Express, Tobu Oriental Eatery and Smoothie Paradise.

I recently attended Chain Store Age’s 49th annual Store Planning, Equipment, Construction and Facilities Services Seminars (SPECS) in Dallas, Texas. While SPECS always gives me plenty to think about, this year was especially interesting thanks to the debut of a new segment on Real Estate Development. In addition to other workshop “tracks” like Facilities, Business Strategies, and Planning & Design, the inclusion of Real Estate Development to the mix really brought new (and important) perspectives.

With 6,700 stores in 12 markets, Tesco is a formidable competitor globally, but Walmart won’t have to worry about competing with the company on its home turf.

Clarksburg, Md. -- Tanger Factory Outlet Centers and Peterson Cos. said Wednesday that the pair will develop an upscale outlet center in Clarksburg, Md.

The new outlet center, currently in the pre-development stage, will be branded as Tanger Outlets and located 27 miles northwest of Washington, D.C. and 36 miles west of Baltimore.

New York -- Fairway Group Holdings Corp., operator of the Fairway Market grocery chain, said Wednesday that it raised $177.5 million in its initial public offering after pricing the shares above the marketed range.

Fairway sold 13.65 million shares for $13 each, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, after offering them for $10 to $12. At the offering price, the company has a market value of about $536 million.

The shares, which represent a 33% stake, will be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol FWM.

With only 12 stores, Fairway Foods is so small it can scarcely be called a regional supermarket chain, but that didn’t stop the company from completing a successful public stock offering on Wednesday.