Real Estate

Casey’s General Stores continues to grow its store portfolio.   The Iowa-based convenience-store operator currently has 39 new stores, 22 replacement stores, and 37 major remodel stores under construction.       Looking ahead, Casey’s has 84 sites under contract for future new store construction and 15 acquisition stores under contract to purchase.     

When the nation’s retail industry recently congregated in New York City for ICSC’s National Deal Making conference, much of the discussion centered on the evolving mindset of consumers throughout the country. For retail real estate professionals in the Northeast, this conversation is vital.   

A subsidiary of NewMark Merrill Companies has acquired Southgate Plaza in Sacramento five years after it was hired by the owner to re-tenant and reposition the center.   The 339,369-sq.-ft. Southgate has the distinction of being anchored by three grocery stores — Walmart Neighborhood Market, 99 Ranch Market, and 99 Cents Only. Other tenants include Ross Dress for Less, Skechers, Payless Shoe Source, Farmer & Merchants Bank, and Taco Bell.  

For landlords and tenants alike, co-tenancy provisions are among the most important pieces of the retail-leasing puzzle. The right mix of tenants can create powerful synergies. For a retail tenant, the stakes are high: the right neighbors can mean the difference between success and failure. Consequently, understanding the different types of co-tenancy clauses, becoming familiar with the nuances and negotiations that accompany their inclusion in a standard lease, and appreciating the concerns and considerations that make them so important should be a priority for any retailer.

Retail real estate developers and management companies are coming away from this week’s New York Deal Making show more optimistic than they’ve been in years.   “There’s some uncertainty following the election, but the stock market is up, the holiday’s been strong, and consumer confidence is high,” said CBL CEO Stephen Lebovitz at the International Council of Shopping Centers show, whose aisles were crammed with some 10,000 attendees.  

Heidenberg Properties has received planning board approval to build a new 54,000-sq.-ft. Stop & Shop prototype at its Lake Plaza Shopping Center in Mahopac, New York. The store will replace a Key Food supermarket and increase total square footage at the center to 165,000 sq. ft.   “This was a complicated process involving multiple municipal agencies,” said Heidenberg VP of Operations Jason Lazar.” We are excited to deliver the new prototype for Stop & Shop."  

Luxury jewelry brand John Hardy evokes its Balinese roots at its new, multi-sensory flagship in Manhattan’s SoHo.   

Walmart has opened a 4,000-sq.-ft. format that offers pick-up of online grocery orders and a convenience store that also sells snacks, beverages and more.        The 4,000-sq.-ft. location, in Thornton, Colorado, also has on-site gaso-line station, the Denver Business Journal reported.