Development/Redevelopment

Destin, Fla. — H&M and Uncle Buck’s Fish Bowl & Grill will anchor a 100,000-sq.-ft. expansion of Destin Commons slated to open in mid-2014.

Construction is underway on the 20,000-sq.-ft H&M store, the first H&M in northwest Florida.

Uncle Buck’s, a concept by Bass Pro Shops, will offer casual dining and 16 lanes of bowling. Uncle Buck’s has also taken 20,000 sq. ft.

The expansion will include about 20 additional stores and restaurants.

New York -- Modell’s Sporting Goods will celebrate the grand opening of two of its newest locations on Aug. 30, giving it a total of 155 storefronts.

The new stores are located in Huntington Shopping Center, Huntington Station, N.Y., and in Fivetowns Shopping Center, Rosedale, N.Y. Both locations are on Long Island.

New York -- DSW plans to test a smaller-store format that will run about 10,000 sq. ft., down from its average 22,000-sq.-ft. model.

DSW did not disclose where the tests would be. But CEO Mike McDonald told securities analysts that, if successful, the small-format stores “will create a new growth vehicle for DSW, which could significantly expand our store count potential,” Columbus Biz Insider reported.

DSW is on track to open 30 stores in 2013.
 

New York -- Analysts project that Francesca’s, a junior apparel and accessories retailer, will have the retail industry’s fastest rates of growth during the next three years, Bloomberg reported.

Francesca’s plans to expand to 900 stores, or double its current store count, in the next seven years.  The chain is projected by analysts to grow sales by 80% during the next three years, faster than any other apparel retailer, according to the report.

The New York press has been all abuzz over the latest news about Nordstrom’s new Manhattan digs – that the West 57th Street space is officially Nordstrom’s.    

New York -- iPic-Gold Class Entertainment has announced that it will develop a mixed-use entertainment, office and retail project in Delray Beach, Fla.

Expected to open in 2015, the project includes a 529-seat eight-screen theater. iPic said the project would create more than 400 jobs and attract more than 400,000 visitors annually to downtown Delray Beach. The company currently operates nine theaters with 67 screens in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

Urbi et Orbi (The City and The World): The phrase is not just the theme of an annual speech from the Pope, but also summarizes what’s taking place in retail across North America: urbanization and globalization.  

San Francisco -- Williams-Sonoma on Wednesday reported better-than-expected second-quarter profit amid same-strong sales. The retailer raised its full-year forecast, but its profit outlook still fell short of market expectations.

The company also announced that it will expand its international presence, adding more stores in Australia and entering the United Kingdom later this year, and debuting in the Philippines in 2014.