Real Estate

Mount Vernon, Ill. — Big Lots has signed a lease for 32,022 sq. ft. at Times Square Mall in Mount Vernon, Ill., about 80 miles east of St. Louis. The store is slated to open in the first quarter of 2014.

Chicago — Jones Lang LaSalle recently appointed senior VP Larry Kilduff, a 25-year industry veteran, as head of the firm’s Midwest Retail platform, which is based in Chicago. Prior to JLL, Kilduff owned and operated two retail real estate development companies and worked with leading retailers including Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart, Sears, Bon-Ton, Kohl’s and J.C. Penney.

New York — Organic burger restaurant Bareburger has signed a lease for 1,875 sq. ft. at 795 Columbus Avenue in New York City. It will be the chain’s first Upper West Side location as well as the first sit-down restaurant to lease space in the Columbus Square development project.

Winick Realty Group represented Bareburger in the transaction.

Corte Madera, Calif. -- Restoration Hardware Holdings reported a net loss  of $17.8 million for the second quarter, compared with net income of $17.6 million in the same quarter a year earlier, due to charges linked to stock awards given to chairman and co-CEO Gary Friedman.

Net revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2013 increased 30% to $382.1 million from $292.9 million last year.

New York -- Schurman Retail Group, owners of Papyrus North America, announced the opening of the first Niquead.D flagship in New York City. It is the brand’s second location to date, with the first opening in December 2012 in Danville, Calif. A second Manhattan location is scheduled to open later this fall, and will be the first to share an entryway with a full-sized Papyrus store.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Private investment firm Yucaipa Cos., which was founded by billionaire Ron Burkle, plans to acquire Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market from U.K.-based Tesco PLC.

Yucaipa's purchase is slated to be complete within three months. In the meantime, it is expected to be business as usual for most Fresh & Easy stores.

Old Bridge, N.J. — The retail vacancy rate along central New Jersey’s major shopping corridors increased to 9.8% this summer, according to R.J. Brunelli & Co.’s 24th annual study of the central New Jersey market.

The disappointing upward spike follows a major decline from a 10-year high of 10.5% to 9.1% between 2011 and 2012. R.J. Brunelli attributed the change to growing closures of smaller ships overcoming progress in re-tenanting big-box spaces larger than 20,000 sq. ft.

New York -- The planned merger between Saks Inc. and Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) took another step forward with the expiration of the 40-day “go shop” period for Saks on Sept. 6. As previously disclosed, the merger agreement entered into on July 28, 2013 between Saks and HBC contained a 40-day “go-shop” period during which Saks was permitted to solicit alternative proposals from third parties.