Tenant Update

Long Beach, Calif. -- Nordstrom, Inc. announced plans to open a Nordstrom Rack at Marina Pacifica Mall in Long Beach, California. The 24,000-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in fall 2015. The property is managed by NewMark Merrill Companies.

The new Nordstrom Rack will occupy a former Loehmann's space and join a mix of tenants including Best Buy, ULTA Beauty, Pier 1 Imports, AMC Theaters, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority and Ralphs.

Yonkers, N.Y. -- Tom Rettaliata of Ripco Real Estate leased 13,840 sq. ft. to Darden Concepts in the Cross County Shopping Center located at 8000 Mall Walk in Yonkers, New York.

The area previously used for parking is now occupied by two freestanding restaurants: Olive Garden (7,448 sq. ft.) and Longhorn Steakhouse (6,392 sq. ft.). Olive Garden opened on October 27, 2014, and Longhorn Steakhouse opened on November 17, 2014.

The landlord, Brooks Shopping Center LLC, was represented by Guy Mercurio of Macerich.

Miami Gardens, Fla. -- Palmetto Park, the owner of Palmetto Gardens Plaza, announced that its new anchor tenant Walmart Neighborhood Store has opened. The new store occupies 40,000 sq. ft. of the 63,000-sq.-ft. shopping center, located at 3799 NW 167th St. in Miami Gardens.

Palmetto Gardens Plaza will also feature T-Mobile, Cell Phone Repair, and Lee Nails, among other retailers, when construction on the remaining portion of the plaza is complete by the third quarter of this year.

Nashville, Tenn. --H.G. Hill Realty Company announced a lineup of tenants at Hill Center Acklen, the Nashville mixed-use development that includes approximately 13,000 sq. ft. of street-level restaurant and retail located at 21st Avenue South and Acklen Avenue in Hillsboro Village.

New York – Retail mall vacancies slightly rose in the fourth quarter of 2014, from 7.9% in the prior quarter to 8%. According to real estate research firm Reis Inc., the closure of 200-plus Sears stores during the year drove the increase, the first recorded since the third quarter of 2011.

Hackettstown, N.J. -- Marshalls has leased 21,675 sq. ft. at Mansfield Commons in Hackettstown, New Jersey, according to center owner National Realty & Development Corp., Purchase, New York.

The 271,980-sq.-ft. Mansfield Commons is anchored by Walmart and Kohl’s, and is located on Route 57.

Foothill Ranch, Calif. -- The Wet Seal announced it would 338 stores, or about 66% of its total portfolio, “on or about” Jan. 7, resulting in the termination of some 3,695 full and part-time employees. The struggling teen apparel retailer said the decision to close the stores was based on its overall financial condition and an inability to negotiate meaningful concessions from its landlords.   

Things are not looking up at Wet Seal, which has announced that it will close 338 stores, or about 66% of its total portfolio, “on or about” Jan. 7, resulting in the termination of some 3,695 full- and part-time employees.

The struggling teen apparel retailer said the decision to close the stores was based on its overall financial condition and an inability to negotiate meaningful concessions from its landlords.

The company said the 338 stores represented approximately 48% of its sales for the nine months ending on November 1, 2014.

Foothill Ranch, Calif. – Teen retailer Wet Seal Inc. has defaulted on a total of $28.8 million in senior convertible notes and related costs. In a regulatory filing, the struggling retailer  said it received notice of default on $27 million in notes from creditor Hudson Bay Master Fund Ltd., plus costs including attorneys’ fees and disbursements.

Wet Seal has reached a two-week forbearance agreement with the fund, giving it until Jan. 12 to pay off the debt.

Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois - Mid-America Real Estate Corporation recently announced the promotions of two employees to Principals and two employees to Senior VPs.   Joe Girardi is a member of Mid-America’s Shopping Center Investment Sales team, and has been promoted to a Principal of Mid-America Real Estate Corporation. He has been with Mid-America since 2003, and has been directly involved in the completion of over $2 billion of retail investment sale transactions.