Real Estate

New York -- Woolrich, the Pennsylvania-based outwear and lifestyle brand, has opened its first-ever freestanding store, in New York’s SoHo neighborhood. The move follows the recent opening of three Woolrich stores in Europe, including a store in Hamburg, Germany, and Prague.

Fort Worth, Texas - Rice Management Company and Trademark Property Company have acquired a three-building, 193,000-sq.-ft. retail property portfolio in Rice Village, today collectively named the Village Arcade. Trademark and Rice plan to completely revitalize the properties by significantly upgrading the merchandising mix, facades and site amenities and considering a rebranding.

Hudson’s Bay Company has signed a lease with Brookfield Property Partners L.P. to open an 85,000-sq.-ft. Saks Fifth Avenue store in Brookfield Place at 225 Liberty Street and a 55,000-sq.-ft. Saks Off 5th store at One Liberty Plaza in Lower Manhattan.

HBC is also leasing 400,000 sq. ft. of office space, adjacent to the Saks Fifth Avenue store at Brookfield Place. This space will become the home office for the company’s New York City-based corporate associates.

Dublin, Calif. – DD’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores Inc. will open a new store in Las Vegas on Sept. 27. The store is located in the Winterwood Pavilion.

Including this new location, DD’s Discounts will operate 150 locations in 14 states and is on schedule to complete its expansion plan to open approximately 20 locations in 2014. Together, Ross Dress for Less and DD’s Discounts currently operate over 1,300 off-price apparel and home fashion stores in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.

Hingham, Mass. – Fast-casual burger chain Wahlburgers has signed a three-restaurant franchise agreement in Las Vegas with Vegas American Hospitality Inc. Wahlburgers will debut in Las Vegas in early 2015 with the opening of its first restaurant at a location soon to be disclosed.  

Indianapolis - Simon and Noble Investment Group, a real estate private equity firm, which specializes in the lodging and hospitality real estate sector, have launched a joint venture that will bring the AC Hotels by Marriott brand to Phipps Plaza, a luxury shopping destination located in Atlanta's Buckhead district.

Aliso Viejo, Calif. – Johnny Rockets has signed a development agreement with The Daher Group, to open Bolivia's first Johnny Rockets restaurant in Santa Cruz's Ventura Mall, the largest shopping center and first modern mall in the country. Johnny Rockets will join Ventura Mall's Gastronomic Boulevard, a central location in the modern mall designed for restaurants, coffee shops and snacks.  

Toronto -- One of the nation’s most venerable department store brands, Saks Fifth Avenue, has given a big boost to the retail revitalization of Lower Manhattan. Saks’ parent Hudson’s Bay Company has signed a lease with Brookfield Property Partners to open two stores in downtown Manhattan: a 85,000-sq.-ft. Saks Fifth Avenue store in Brookfield Place (formerly called the World Financial Center), and a 55,000-sq.-ft. Saks Off 5th store at One Liberty Plaza.