Development/Redevelopment

New York -- Winick Realty Group announced that European Wax Center has signed a lease for its first Murray Hill location at 222 East 34th Street, between Second and Third Avenues. The 1,900-sq.-ft., ground-floor store is slated to open this spring.

The store is part of the newly developed retail at the base of 480-unit luxury apartment building The Anthem.

Winick Realty Group is exclusively handling retail leasing on the building on behalf of landlord Rosebud Associates.

Bismarck, N.D. -- Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CBL & Associates Properties announced Thursday that it plans to acquire Kirkwood Mall, located in Bismarck, N.D., from Radiant Partners.

Los Angeles -- CBRE Group reported Thursday that, despite sluggish economic growth, the U.S. commercial real estate market remained on a recovery path in fourth quarter 2012.

The retail availability rate declined slightly to 12.8%, down 10 bps compared with the previous quarter.

“The broken record of slow but positive progress toward a real estate recovery continues to repeat,” said Jon Southard, managing director of CBRE’s Econometric Advisors Group.

Philadelphia and New York -- Law firm Duane Morris announced that it has named partners Chester Lee in New York and George Kroculick in Philadelphia as co-chairs of its firmwide Real Estate Practice Group.

Lee and Kroculick succeed partner Marc Brookman in heading the practice.

Lee and Kroculick will take over a national practice involving more than 90 lawyers with broad experience in real estate and development matters.

Seattle -- Nordstrom announced plans to open two new Nordstrom Rack stores, with one in Atlanta, at the Perimeter Expo shopping center, which is owned by Kimco Realty Corp., and the other in Naples, Fla., at The Mercato.

The 36,000-sq,-ft. Atlanta store is scheduled to open in fall 2013. The 30,000-sq.-ft. Naples store is scheduled to open in fall 2013.

Old Bridge, N.J. -- Construction and leasing are now under way on Woodhaven Plaza, a new neighborhood shopping center in Old Bridge, N.J.

NEW YORK — Value priced apparel and accessories retailer Uniqlo continues its U.S. expansion with the opening of two stores in the Northeast.

The global clothing retailer is strengthening its toehold on the Northeast with two new stores opening at Palisades Center in West Nyack, N.Y., and Westchester’s Ridge Hill in Yonkers, N.Y., by spring 2013.

New York -- Uniqlo, a division of Japan’s Fast Retailing Co., will continue its U.S. expansion strategy by opening two new mall locations, at Palisades Center in West Nyack, N.Y., and Westchester’s Ridge Hill in Yonkers, N.Y. Both stores are slated to open in spring 2013.

At 24,000 total sq. ft., the Uniqlo store in Palisades Center will open in early March. (Palisades Center is the eighth largest mall in the nation.)