Real Estate

Modell’s Sporting Goods continues to expand Northeast footprint
Three City Sports stores are being given a new lease on life.

Modell’s Sporting Goods has acquired three prime Northeast locations from City Sports, which filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2015 and subsequently announced plans to close all its stores. Beginning in early 2016, the stores, which range from 7,500 sq. ft. - 9,000 sq. ft. and are located in Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C., will start to transition to the Modell’s format.
British activewear brand taps Bain exec to lead U.S. growth
Sweaty Betty, the London-based athleisure brand, is gearing up for expansion in the United States.

The retailer named Erika Serow president and CEO of its U.S. business, effective Jan. 18, Women’s Wear Daily reported. Serow has served as retail practice leader for the Americas region for Bain & Co. since 2013, with a focus on the apparel sector. She started at Bain in 1995.

Chef Nobu to open flagship at 60-acre coastal development in the heart of Honolulu

Photo: Chef Nobu Matsuhisa
The Shoppes at Windmill Place under new ownership

Batavia, Ill. -- Mid-America Real Estate Corp. announced its Investment sales team brokered the sale of The Shoppes at Windmill Place in Batavia, Illinois. Cincinnati-based Phillips Edison purchased the 122,176-sq. ft. grocery-anchored property.

The Shoppes at Windmill Place is anchored by Jewel Osco and features national retailers including Comcast, Dunkin’ Donuts, Mattress Firm, Subway and more.
Will Bridgestone beat latest Icahn offer for Pep Boys?

Auto chain Pep Boys announced Monday that a $16.50 per share takeover bid by activist investor Carl Icahn is a "superior offer" to a rival proposal by Bridgestone Retail Operations in September.

It's just the latest chapter in the ongoing saga of who gets to acquire Pep Boys, which has 800 locations in 35 states.

Pep Boys says it now prefers to take the offer from Icahn Enterprises and that Tokyo's Bridgestone Corp. has until Wednesday to up its bid.
PREIT's Springfield Town Center sales exceed $500 PSF in its first full year

Springfield, Va. -- PREIT announced that Springfield Town Center in Springfield, Virginia, has recorded $505 PSF in sales for tenants less than 10,000 sq. ft. open during the center's first full year of operation, 18% above the company's portfolio average as of September 30, 2015.

The newly redeveloped 1.35 million sq. ft. regional mall was acquired by PREIT March 2015 and celebrated its grand re-opening in October 2014 after undergoing a dramatic renovation and rebranding.
Steel City Pops enters Houston

Houston --

Steel City Pops has leased 3,710-sq. ft. of retail space in Heights Plaza, a specialty retail center. Kyle Knight with the Houston office of The Weitzman Group handled negotiations as tenant representative for Steel City Pops.

Heights Plaza, a project of Houston developer Radom Capital, represents the redevelopment of a historic retail property that is home to several Texas-based concepts, including Bird’s Barbershop.
Baker Katz completes sale of 2.12-acre property with existing 13,000-sq.-ft. office building in Houston

Houston -- Baker Katz announced the sale of a 2.12-acre property with an existing 13,000 sq. ft. office building located in Houston, near the cross streets of U.S. Highway 59 N and West Little York Road.

Baker Katz principal Kenneth Katz made the announcement.
Westfield sells five malls in billion dollar deal

Westfield Corp. announced Monday it has sold five of its U.S. shopping malls — totaling more than 6 million sq. feet of retail space across four states — to help fund a property development program. The move is line with the company’s recent strategy to focus on its flagship assets, which include the new World Trade Center mall, due to open in spring 2016.
Supermarket success for ex-Trader Joe's president

The former president of Trader Joe's has created a supermarket concept in the Boston area that offers fresh, healthy food at affordable prices. Now just a few months since opening, the store boasts over 300 customers visiting daily and has begun to look into expanding with a second location in the Boston area. [Food World News]
NBA to open flagship on Fifth Avenue — again

The National Basketball Association is set to open a flagship on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue next week. And according to media reports, it includes lots of attenting-getting flourishes.

The centerpiece of the new three-level store, which comes some four years after the NBA closed its previous flagship on Fifth Avenue, will be a 32-foot-tall basketball net with 31,000 LEDs that reaches up to the second floor, Women’s Wear Daily reported. The net, visible from the street, is topped with sculpture designed to replicate a basketball tread.
Winning with retail real estate in 2016

Occupancy costs are among the largest expenses for any retailer. Total lease obligations can exceed long term debt in many companies, reducing profitability and hindering growth. It doesn’t have to be that way though if operators follow four simple rules of retail real estate.