Real Estate

Privately-owned, family-operated Meijer announced plans to invest more than $375 million in new and remodeled stores in 2017 across its six-state footprint.    The investment includes the construction of seven new Meijer supercenters and 22 remodel projects. While Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin will each welcome new Meijer supercenters later this year, dozens of other Meijer stores have begun or will soon begin remodel projects to enhance the customer shopping experience.  

Publix Supermarkets’ sales and profit rose in the fourth quarter amid continued expansion.      Publix’s net earnings for the fourth quarter rose 4.5% to $544.5 million, from $521.1 million in the year-ago period.   Sales rose 11.1% to $9.1 billion. (The additional week in the fourth quarter of 2016 increased sales by 7.4%.) Same-store sales increased 2.2%.  

It’s been a while since Lamps Plus Inc. opened a new store, since 2009 to be specific.   But that will change this summer, when the retailer opens a store at The Arboretum, an open-air marketplace in Austin, Texas. The location will be the nation’s largest lighting retailer’s 39th store and third in Texas.   

The competitive apparel market and a touch retail climate overall has claimed another victim.    BCBG Max Azria Group LLC on Wednesday announced that it taken “the next step in the restructuring of its brands and operations” by filing for Chapter 11 of bankruptcy protection. Earlier this month, the company revealed plans to close 120 stores as part of its restructuring efforts.   

Trademark Property Co. has named Angela Hall to serve as general manager and marketing director at two of its newest properties in Fort Worth — Waterside and WestBend.   Hall recently directed the grand opening of Waterside, a 63-acre mixed-use property. At WestBend, another mixed-use development in the city’s University District, she supported leasing efforts and event programming.    Prior to joining Trademark last year, Hall was marketing director at Vestar.

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The final clearance sale is already underway at Macy’s store in downtown Minneapolis.     Macy’s Inc. has officially completed the sale of its Minneapolis property to 601W Companies for $59 million in cash. The store is expected to close this spring.       The department store retailer will record a gain for the property of approximately $47 million in first quarter 2017. The gain was originally anticipated and included in 2017 earnings guidance previously provided by the company.

Target Corp. has a lot on its plate for the next three years.   Among other initiatives the retailer will open 30 small format stores in 2017, doubling its presence in urban markets and on college campuses. By 2019, Target will operate more than 130 smaller stores.  

Three different centers, three different owner/managers, three different recipes for shaping open-air centers to local tastes

Chris Ressa does not put a lot of stock in the word “experiential.” Though it’s become a companion to the word “retail” in the real estate industry, DLC Management Corp.’s senior VP of leasing finds it not up to the task of describing what’s too often missing at shopping venues.