Real Estate

Aeropostale is negotiating a potential sale to private equity firm Versa Capital Management LLC, Reuters reported. Versa specializes in distressed investments.      In court papers filed at the end of last week,the retailer said it has been in discussions with Versa regarding a possible stalking horse bid at the chain’s bankruptcy auction later this month. The bid by Versa could include a cash payment for Aéropostale’s inventory, and the assumption of more than 500  

The brand known the world over for its iconic crocodile logo has a new retail strategy.   In a move to enhance its brand in the United States, Lacoste is renovating high-profile locations and opening more impactful, larger-format retail stores in the its key U.S. markets, which include New York, south Florida and southern California.   

Regency Centers has demolished most of its Aventura Shopping Center in the South Florida town of the same name, and is underway with a near-total redevelopment.   The Publix grocery anchor at the center south of Hollywood is the only structure that remains, though the 35,500-sq.-ft. space will be expanded to 49,000 sq. ft. with parking below the store.   

In 2013, when Plainsboro (New Jersey) Plaza lost its grocery anchor, prospects appeared bleak for the once-thriving center. A new town center concept erected across the street in this affluent locale bordering Princeton had siphoned off shoppers in a big way. According to a report in the Trenton Times, two-thirds of the Plaza emptied while Plainsboro Village Center was 96% leased.  

The first phase of NewMark Merrill’s redevelopment of the Village at the Peaks in Longmont, Colorado — a 500,000-sq.-ft. lifestyle center — has been completed.   The company purchased the 50% vacant Twin Peaks Mall in 2012 for $8.5 million and has since pumped $90 million into construction of the new project in a private partnership with the city of Longmont that included a $32 million public bond.  

At Home on Friday started trading its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.    The Plano, Texas-based retailer has been growing its store base at a rate of 20% annually for the last three years, reported the Dallas Morning News. It now operate 115 stores in 29 states across the South and Midwest.     

Ikea has tabbed a 123-acre parcel 17 miles north of downtown Denver as the potential site of its second location in the metro. The Swedish furniture retailer made its debut in the area with a store in Centennial in 2011.   Ikea set no time frame for the opening of the second store, though the city of Denver has begun the process of incorporating a new Ikea into the master-planned retail center destined for the site in Broomfield at the intersection of Interstate 25 and State Highway 7.  

Tuesday Morning is showing off its updated prototype at two locations.   The chain’s expanded store at Preston Shopping Center, Dallas, and new store at Parker Central Shopping Center, in Plano, feature new fixtures, flooring, improved lighting and a redesigned store layout that makes it easier for customers to shop. The format also includes an expanded assortment of goods.