Real Estate

San Francisco -- Gap will enter the Italian outlet center market, opening a namesale store at the Vicolungo Outlet Center near Milan, on June 2.

White Plains, N.Y. -- SRS Real Estate Partners announced Tuesday that Dick’s Sporting Goods has leased 58,750 sq. ft. at “The Source” in White Plains, N.Y.

The Dick’s Sporting Goods lease represents the first step of the redevelopment of the former Fortunoff store, directly adjacent to The Westchester Mall. “The Source” is also occupied by Whole Foods Market, The Cheesecake Factory, Morton’s, Destination Maternity and a planned Raymour & Flanigan.

The new store opened in April.

Chicago — Los Angeles-based Westfield announced that its Westfield Old Orchard shopping destination in Skokie, Ill., has added more new tenants to its offerings.

Loveland, Colo. — McWhinney Enterprises announced that its Marketplace at Centerra power center in Loveland, Colo., will see the addition of Menchie’s and Buffalo Wild Wings this year.

Menchie’s is slated to open a new frozen yogurt shop at the end of May, and Buffalo Wild Wings has begun remodeling a former Black Eye Pea restaurant space with an anticipated opening date of August. 

New York — Backed by an improving economy, a recent surge in jobs and ten consecutive months of rising retail sales, a broad range of retailers are poised to fill up empty retail spaces over the next 12 to 18 months, according to Colliers International,  the third-largest commercial real estate services company in the world.

Washington, D.C. — Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. and The Peterson Cos. announced that they have entered into a joint venture agreement to develop, manage and lease Tanger Outlets at National Harbor.

Walmart CFO Charles Holley participated in the Citi Global Consumer Conference this past Tuesday, and he had the challenge of appearing just one week after Walmart released first-quarter results. Given the timing, it would have been reasonable to expect that he wouldn’t have a lot of new information to share, and while he certainly covered a lot of familiar ground, there was one area that stood out.

Chicago — A report released by Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle found that the retail sector is edging toward recovery driven by growth in job market, gains in corporate profits and improvements in credit markets.

According to Jones Lang LaSalle’s North America Mid-Year Retail Outlook, the environment is still not without risk as rising fuel costs and a continued weak housing market, coupled with an increasingly volatile global geopolitical climate, continue to slow retail recovery as consumers remain tentatively cautious.