Real Estate

Cincinnati -- Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT II and TPG Real Estate announced the formation of a partnership to acquire high-quality, value-added grocery-anchored shopping centers throughout the United States. The Partnership will invest up to $250 million of equity and plans to leverage this capital to achieve a $750 million acquisition target.

Dollar General will break its own record for store expansion in 2017. And that’s saying a lot.

The discounter is already in high gear, with plans to open a record 900 stores and remodel or relocate about 875 existing locations in 2016. But it’s upping the total for 2017, forecasting some 1,000 new stores and 900 remodels or relocations, which is in line with its model of 6% to 8% square footage growth.

Market expansion into the Minneapolis market may be the next step for Meijer, The Grand Rapids Press reported last week, confirming that the grocer acquired 30 acres of land in a Twin City suburb. "I can confirm Meijer has purchased property in Brooklyn Park, Minn.," Frank Guglielmi, Meijer senior director communications, told The Grand Rapids Press.

Tacoma, Wash. -- Vestar announced that it has acquired James Center located in Tacoma, Washington, for $31.4 million.

The 140,240 sq. ft. center is located directly across from Tacoma Community College, which enrolls nearly 14,000 students per year. James Center is anchored by Fred Meyer and Rite, as well as feature tenants: Starbucks, Subway, Verizon, Menchie’s, U.S. Bank, IHOP, FedEx Kinko’s and Ivar’s.

“Now Trending” is an exclusive online series to chainstoreage.com, featuring trending topics that impact the retail real estate landscape.

Ross Dress for Less opened a new store in Port Hueneme, California on March 5.

The 23,000-sq.-ft. foot store is located at Mandalay Village Marketplace, 63 miles northwest of Los Angeles and 40 miles south of Santa Barbara, along Channel Islands Boulevard and Wheelhouse Avenue.

With this location, Ross operates 278 stores in California, its largest state. The opening is part of the retailer’s 2016 expansion program that will see it open some 70 new locations during the year.

Companies of all sizes, and increasingly retailers, are implementing integrated portfolio management solutions to make smarter real estate decisions and solve their business challenges.

To better support retailers with their real estate portfolios, JLL announced that it has welcomed back Geno Coradini to the firm as executive VP, retail integrated portfolio services lead. He will be responsible for working with our retail tenant representative brokers nationally to support JLL’s retailer client base.

Online fine jeweler Blue Nile is set to open its first physical location outside of New York City in an ongoing effort to reimagine the jewelry buying experience.

Seattle-based Blue Nile said it would open a store at Tysons Corner Center mall in Fairfax County, Virginia by mid-summer as part of a strategy to open four locations this year.

Stores devoted to women’s activewear (or athleisure) are one of the fastest- growing segments in retailing and now Tory Burch has joined the crowd. The company has opened Tory Sport in the Flatiron District of Manhattan. The store features the entire Tory Sport collection, which ranges from running gear to golf clothing, reported NY Racked, and has a decor inspired by different elements of sports. [NY Racked]

Ross Dress for Less opened a new store in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, on March 5.

The 26,000-sq.-ft. store is located in the Noble Town Center, 15 miles north of downtown Philadelphia, at the northeast corner of Old York Road and The Fairway.

The opening is part of the retailer’s 2016 expansion program, totaling about 70 new locations during the year.