Real Estate

It’s hard to keep up with Manhattan’s fast-changing retail scene. But no one does it better than Faith Hope Consolo, chairman, retail leasing and sales division, Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estate. Here are new and upcoming stores that Consolo, often referred to as the “Queen of Retail,” expects to be “fashionably” fabulous this year (with all comments by the Queen of Retail herself):

New York City -- J.Crew Group said Monday its $3 billion deal to be taken private by two investment firms is complete.

Shanghai, China -- Mattel announced Monday that it has closed its much-acclaimed Barbie flagship store, which opened March 2009 in Shanghai.

The El Segundo, Calif.-based toy manufacturer, which officially closed the store’s doors on Monday, cited a change in strategy as reason for the closure. Mattel said in a statement that it plans to promote the Barbie brand via road tour -- on a pink tour bus.

New York City -- Spain’s The Inditex Group of Spain will pay $400 million for a flagship Zara retail store at 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, who cited people familiar with the matter, the transaction is one of the largest retail condominium deals ever. Zara bought out a 32,000-sq.-ft. lease from former occupant NBA store, which had less than three years remaining, according to the report.

Omaha, Neb. -- New York City-based The Lightstone Group said Thursday that Guitar Center has signed a 10-year, 18,000-sq.-ft. lease at Oakview Plaza located in Omaha, Neb.

Built in 1999, Oakview Plaza is a power center that serves Omaha's westward expansion, and comprises three single-story retail buildings located on approximately 19.6 acres of land and containing approximately 177,303 rentable sq. ft. It is tenanted by Famous Footwear, Men's Warehouse, PetSmart, Panera, Dick's Sporting Goods and Babies "R” Us.

New York City -- The District of Columbia came out on top on The U.S. Green Building Council’s 2010 list of Top 10 states for LEED-certified commercial and institutional green buildings per capita, based on the U.S. 2010 Census information. The district had 25 sq. ft. of LEED-certified space per person in 2010, followed by Nevada, with 10.92 sq. ft. per person in 2010.

The top LEED states per capita, including the District of Columbia: