Development/Redevelopment

Madison, Miss. -- Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CBL & Associates Properties has announced the start of construction on Phase II of The Forum at Grandview, a community center in Madison, Miss.

The 83,000-sq.-ft. second phase will include anchors Ulta, Homegoods, Petco and a national arts and crafts retailer, along with 14,000 sq. ft. of specialty stores. The opening of phase II is scheduled for summer 2012.

Tuscaloosa, Ala. -- Dallas-based Cypress Equities said that local fashion boutique Soca Clothing will open a new store at Midtown Village, located in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

The new 1,400-sq.-ft. store is slated to open in September.

Midtown Village is a 350,000-sq.-ft. mixed-use community in the heart of Tuscaloosa featuring retail and restaurant space, as well as office suites.
 

New York City -- Japanese fast-fashion giant Uniqlo is set to open its largest global flagship to date, an 89,000-sq.-ft. store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. The store, which will also be the larger single retailer on Fifth Avenue, will open on Oct. 14.

One week later, Uniqlo will debut a second flagship in Manhattan, a 64,000-sq.-ft. store 34th St. It will be the chain’s second largest global flagship

PARIS — Gap Inc. has announced plans to open its first Banana Republic store in France in Paris in early December. Synonymous with culture, quality, heritage and style, the store will be , one of the most popular international shopping destinations in the world.

The 15,952 sq. ft. Paris flagship store will be located on Avenue des Champs Élysées and will occupy more than two floors.

NEW YORK — Customers with expensive taste will have greater access to luxury now that Saks is planning to open five new Off 5th stores throughout the United States. According to the company, these new stores will be located in upscale outlet, lifestyle, or strip centers, and each store will be designed in Off 5TH's unique "luxury in a loft" format. The new stores should have a particular appeal to foreign tourists, who helped drive up same-store sales to about 15% at Saks' flagship New York store.

New York City -- Saks Inc.’s Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th announced the addition of five stores for 2012. The new stores will be located in upscale outlet, lifestyle, or strip centers.

The new locations are in Merrimack, N.H., Syracuse, N.Y., Livermore, Calif., Grand Prairie, Texas, and Nashville. The Merrimack store will be the first Off 5th in New Hampshire, and the store in Nashville will be a replacement store for the one lost in the 2010 flood in Tennessee.

As Hurricane Irene raged up the East Coast over the weekend of Aug. 26-28, Apple -- like many retailers strategically positioned in the storm’s path -- turned out the lights on its New York-area stores, including all three Manhattan locations, New Jersey and Connecticut, to shield itself from Irene’s wrath.

But on the same day it temporarily shuttered its East Coast stores, Apple officially opened locations in North Carolina, Arkansas and, yes, France.

San Francisco -- Gap announced Monday that it will open its first Banana Republic store in France in Paris in early December. The 15,952-sq.-ft. store will be located on Avenue des Champs Élysées, one of the most popular international shopping destinations in the world.

“Following the success of our London and Milan openings, we are delighted to bring Banana Republic to Paris and take another exciting step in our international growth strategy,” said Stephen Sunnucks, president, International, Gap.
 

MONTVALE, N.J. — Grocer A&P officially opened on Friday its new Superfresh store, featuring a full-service pharmacy and expanded international offerings, in Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties neighborhood.

The 51,000-sq.-ft. neighborhood store marks A&P’s first new store in Pennsylvania in more than 10 years, and brings nearly 120 new jobs to the community.