Real Estate

Orlando, Fla. - Darden Restaurants Inc. plans to separate a portion of its real estate assets through a combination of sale leaseback transactions and a new, publicly traded real estate investment trust ("REIT"). Under the plan, Darden will transfer approximately 430 of its corporate stores to the REIT, with substantially all of the REIT's initial assets being leased back to Darden.  

Chicago - Mid-America Real Estate Corp.’s Investment Sales team recently brokered the sale of Randhurst Village in the Chicago suburb of Mount Prospect. Tarrytown, New York-based DLC Management Corp. purchased the 1,009,937-sq.-ft. regional power and lifestyle center.

Randhurst Village national tenants include Costco, Home Depot, Jewel-Osco, AMC Theaters, Carson Pirie Scott, Bed Bath & Beyond, Sports Authority, TJ Maxx, Old Navy, PetSmart and World Market.

Seattle – Nordstrom Inc. plans to open Nordstrom Rack at Waikiki Trade Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. The approximately 34,000-sq.-ft., two-level store is scheduled to open in spring 2016.

The property was acquired by Coastwood Capital Group, LLC in late 2013.

Canton, Mass. - Dunkin' Donuts has opened its newest hotel location at the Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky, Ohio, making it the fifth restaurant to open under a franchising agreement between Dunkin' Donuts and Great Wolf Resorts. Dunkin' Donuts has existing restaurants at Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, North Carolina; Williamsburg, Virginia; Traverse City, Michigan; and Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

Boca Raton, Fla. — A deal that would leave the nation with one giant office-supply retailer is one step nearer to completion.

Office Depot shareholders have voted overwhelmingly in favor of the proposed $6.3 billion buyout offer from rival Staples Inc., with 99.5 % of the votes cast in favor of the merger.

Staples proposed to acquire Office Depot in February in a cash-and-stock deal. Under the deal, Office Depot shareholders will get $7.25 per share in cash and 0.2188 of a share in Staples stock for each Office Depot share held.

WILMINGTON, N.C. — The Mayfaire Town Center and Mayfaire Community Center have been acquired by CBL & Associates Properties, a publicly traded real estate investment trust based in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The sale, which closed June 18, is not expected to result in immediate changes that will be noticed by consumers.

Once a horse farm, Mayfaire Town Center and Mayfaire Community Center have become one of North Carolina's premier shopping and leisure destinations.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Cypress Equities, the management company for Brookwood Village, announced its plans for updating the interior of the two-level shopping center that straddles the communities of Homewood and Mountain Brook.

Ever-growing Amazon.com Inc. is expanding its e-commerce capabilities in Target's home turf.

The e-commerce behemoth has announced it will open an 850,000 square foot fulfillment center in the Minneapolis area, its first DC in the state of Minnesota.

New York -- Target Corp. has laid off about 140 employees from its Minneapolis headquarters as part of its transformation efforts, and eliminated 50 open positions, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

Including the latest round of cuts, Target has let go about 2,500 workers this year.

Click here for the story.

Flying Tiger, the U.S. banner of Danish discounter Tiger, has landed in Manhattan, opening a 5,000-sq.-ft. outpost in the Flatiron district. The store has a modern Scandinavian look, with white walls, light wood flooring and a single aisle that winds through the space. The design focuses all the attention on the quirky, eclectic and very affordable product.