Tenant Update

Phoenix -- Cole Real Estate Investments announced it executed leases totaling 1,658,000 sq. ft. at Cole-related properties throughout 2012.  

The transactions included 390,000 sq. ft. of new leases and 1,268,000 sq. ft. of lease renewals, bringing Cole’s multi-tenant retail property occupancy rate to 97.7%.

New York -- Abercrombie & Fitch wants to turn the building that once housed the Beatles’ Apple Records into one of its namesake children’s stores, Bloomberg News reported.  

The building is where the famed singing group performed together for the last time, in 1969. The performance, which occurred on the roof, was filmed for the movie “Let It Be.” The Westminster borough council is due to vote on the proposal next week.

Mishawaka, Ind. -- Brixmor Property Group said that Anytime Fitness has opened a 4,200-sq.-ft. facility at Bittersweet Plaza, located in Mishawaka, Ind.

Brixmor, based in New York City, is the owner of Bittersweet Plaza.
 

New York City -- Saks Inc. announced Tuesday it will shutter its Saks Fifth Avenue store in the Dallas Galleria on June 15. The retailer has operated a store in Dallas since 1982, and the summer closing will leave some 120 associates with the choice of transfer or severance.

Simultaneous with the Saks departure announcement was news from department store chain Belk that it will fill the vacated Galleria space with a $20-million, 170,000-sq.-ft. flagship store that starts construction in July and is slated to open spring 2014. 

Berlin, Vt. -- Berlin Mall LLC announced it has cleared the last two permitting hurdles to begin an 18,700-sq.-ft. expansion of The Berlin Mall, located in Berlin, Vt. The expansion is part of a planned increase in the size of its Walmart anchor store, which will also expand into existing, adjoining retail space at the mall
     
Construction is slated to start spring 2013.
 

Purchase, N.Y. -- National Realty & Development Corp. said Tuesday that Lane Bryant will open two new locations within its portfolio, Hadley Center in South Plainfield, N.J., and Northampton Crossings in Easton, Pa.

The plus-size retailer will open a 5,000-sq.-ft. store in each location. Both are slated to open in the spring.

Hadley Center is a 542,000-sq.-ft. power center anchored by Target, Kohl’s Department Store, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Regal Cinemas and Marshalls Megastore.

A new research report by The NPD Group unveiled information I already knew:  the restaurant space is growing by leaps and bounds. In fact, the total restaurant count in the U.S. increased by 4,442 units over last year, according to NPD’s recent restaurant census Fall 2012 ReCount.

That’s no small potatoes.

Some 616,008 eateries now dot the country, representing a .7% increase over last year, with the biggest growth coming from the quick-serve segment (up 1% over last year, or an added 4,037 units).

Miami Beach, Fla. -- Terranova Corp. said Friday that Epicure Gourmet Market & Cafe will open a 24,000-sq.-ft., ground-floor location at Gables Ponce, a mixed-use project located in Coral Gables, Fla.
 
Epicure, based in Miami Beach, will anchor the ground-floor retail of the 248-unit residential project being built by Gables Urban.