Real Estate

Food Lion is making a major investment in store remodels.

The grocer announced it will remodel 142 stores in the greater Charlotte, N.C., market in 2016. Food Lion said it will invest $215 million in the stores, which includes remodeling, additional price investments throughout the year and investments in associates and the community through its Food Lion Feeds initiatives.

Michael Reed has been promoted to VP real estate for Stater Bros. Markets.  
 
Reed joined Stater Bros. in 2014 as senior director of real estate, a position he held until his recent promotion. He will report to president and CEO Pete Van Helden.

Prior to Stater Bros., Reed served as real estate store development manager for Starbucks where he was responsible for growing the company’s Mid-West and Western Mountain regions.  

Stater Bros. operates 168 supermarkets in California.

Publix Super Markets is entering the eastern portion of the North Carolina market.

Publix will be coming to Greenville Square, a 150,000-sq-ft center, formerly anchored by K Mart, which will be completely renovated with a new façade, parking lot, lighting package and landscaping. The 49,000-sq-ft Publix will open in 2017 along with several new national, regional, and local tenants.

Brodyco is the developer for the partnership of David Brody, Hyman Brody, and Robert Beller, who purchased Greenville Square in 2005.

Checkers Drive-In Restaurants is employing a high-tech solution to help it expand throughout the United States.

The fast-casual chain has partnered with Buxton to identify growth opportunities for Checkers & Rally's restaurants. The company, which operates and franchises both Checkers and Rally's restaurants, currently has more than 800 locations nationwide.

A modular cabinet and hardware system has given upscale men’s clothing retailer Hammer Made an important degree of flexibility at Ridgedale Shopping Mall location in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

Inventory at the upscale men’s clothing shop fluctuates often. Consequently, it was critical that the display cabinets create the impression that the shelves were always stocked, regardless of the actual inventory level at hand.

Philadelphia -- PREIT announced that its recent sale of Palmer Park Mall marked the ninth lower-productivity mall sold by the company since having announced its plans to divest non-core properties in late 2012. These properties generated average sales per sf of $254 at the time of sale. The company also has four additional malls under contract with significant non-refundable deposits. Pro-forma January 31, 2016 portfolio sales per square foot excluding the assets sold or under contract for sale are $451.

Deals in “Mind” Games

Brain fitness might seem an unusual specialty for a retailer, but it’s proved a sweet spot for Marbles: The Brain Store.

Founded by Lindsay Gaskins and Scott Brown, the Chicago-based retailer sells games and other items designed to stimulate the brain. It made its debut in 2008, with a kiosk in a local mall. People were intrigued, but they wanted a more engaging shopping experience, said marketing director Hallie Steube.

The federal government has extended the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for solar energy investments through 2019. It provides businesses that install solar panels a tax credit equal to 30% of the total solar installation price. The credit will ramp down to 26% in 2020, 22% in 2021 and to 10% in 2022 for commercial solar installations.