Development/Redevelopment

Commerce, Mich. -- Health and wellness retailer LaVida Massage said Tuesday it will have opened at least 13 new franchised units before the end of 2012. Another eight are slated to open in early 2013.

LaVida currently operates 45 centers nationwide. 

Our rapid expansion continues to yield strong results for LaVida, despite a struggling economy,” said Evan Kaltschmidt, COO.

The new centers are located in California, Georgia, Illinois (2), Michigan (3), New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.

Toronto -- Canadian luxury fashion retailer Holt Renfrew & Co. said Monday it will launch a new discount chain called hr2, with a first store in March in Quebec, followed by planned locations across the country by 2015.

It said the stores will range in size from 25,000 sq. ft. to 35,000 sq. ft., smaller than Holt Renfrew’s nine department stores, and targeting women age 25 and up.

Beijing -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Friday that it plans to open 100 stores in China by 2015, a slowed pace from prior growth rates in the country but still representing ongoing interest in boosting its market share behind the country’s No. 1 player Sun Art Retail Group.

Value fashion retailer Primark’s new flagship on Oxford St. (at Tottenham Court Rd.) spans some 82,300 sq. ft. over four floors. Designed by Dalziel & Pow, London, the store has a bold, modern look,  complete with a faux tube station, a massive LED screen and colorful graphics. Digital integration is a key element, with specially commissioned brand films playing on the exterior wall of the elevator lifts. An animated store map is featured on the elevator walls and throughout the store to help with customer navigation.

In its eighth year, the annual Top Redevelopers survey continues to underscore the country’s emphasis on refurbishing and repositioning over building anew. Just as in the prior seven years, shopping center owners are concentrating on existing assets — sometimes tweaking, sometimes refreshing, sometimes razing sections and rebuilding. For all, however, the goal is to maximize exposure and returns for all the tenants involved.

Chicago -- Englewood Construction has announced that its Retail Group has began an extensive, 31,621-sq.-ft. interior build out for Ross Dress for Less at the Ford City Mall, a 47-year-old mall in Chicago’s West Lawn neighborhood.

The work will consist of a reconfiguration of the mall’s floor plans, structure and roof. Englewood will be combining three current spaces into one large floor plate for Ross Dress for Less. Chicago-based Chadha & Associates will serve as the architect on the project.
 

Uniqlo has made its first move in an ambitious plan to become a major presence in shopping malls throughout the nation. The company, Japan’s largest retailer and a division of Fast Retailing Co., has jump-started its U.S. expansion with the opening of a 43,000-sq.-ft. store in Westfield Garden State Plaza, Paramus, N.J.

Dallas -- Davaco, a provider of high-volume programs and implementation services for global brands, is relocating its Canadian office to a new space in Woodbridge, Ontario, effective Nov. 1.

The company’s new office is located at 525 Rowntree Dairy Road, Unit 1, Woodbridge, Ontario, L4L 7K6.