Real Estate

The Azarian Group has acquired The Livingston Town Center in Livingston, New Jersey in a $21.2 million trade arranged by Cushman Wakefield.   The 11-year-old lifestyle retail property houses a diverse mix of 28 restaurants and shops, including Fan Bistro, an upscale Asian spot, Restore Cold Pressed Juices, and Dentistry with a Smile. Fit 36 and Xtend Barre are scheduled to open there soon.    

Dollar Tree is making headway on its strategic move into the nation’s most densely populated state.   The value chain has executed five leases at locations in New Jersey, the largest a 12,230-sq.-ft. inline space at Plainfield Plaza, a grocery-anchored center in Plainfield, according to R.J. Brunelli, Dollar Tree’s real estate representative in the state.   Other locations:   Toms River: 10,200-sq.-ft. freestanding space on Route 37

West Elm will be opening its first Fort Worth location in rebranded urban retail development in the town’s Cultural District.   Heretofore known as West 7th, The Woodmont Company decided to call upon a more colorfully named street in the neighborhood to rebrand the shopping and entertainment district as Crockett Row at West 7th.  

Meijer is expanding its already considerable footprint in its home state of Michigan.    Meijer on Thursday opened its first locations in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula area, in Escanaba and Sault Ste. Marie. The 192,000-sq.-ft.-supercenters, built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, are the latest in a $375 million investment this year that includes the construction of seven new Meijer supercenters and remodel projects for 22 additional stores in Indianapolis, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky. 

Ikea is looking to expand in presence in North Carolina.   The retailer said it is submitting plans to the Town of Cary, N.C., for a potential Raleigh-area store, which would be the second Ikea location in the state. The proposed 15-acre site would be located adjacent to the existing Cary Towne Center, approximately 12 miles west of downtown Raleigh and two miles from downtown Cary.  

American Eagle Outfitters’ profit shrunk in the first quarter amid charges and discounting.  

German discount grocer Lidl is set to shake up the competition with prices that promise to turn up the heat on its U.S. competitors, who are already engaged in a price war.    Lidl on Wednesday revealed the locations of the first 20 stores it will open this summer in the United States, starting on June 15. (See end of story for listing). The stores — in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia — are the first of up to 100 locations the grocer plans to open across the East Coast by next summer.    

The story of the reinvention of a mall into a multi-use development got more colorful this week.   Crayola Experience announced it will place its fourth U.S. location in The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano, Texas, a Starwood mall that is adding a seven-story office tower, an expanded dining district, and the North Texas Performing Arts Center in a top-to-bottom transformation.