Real Estate

Bellevue, Wash. – Real estate development firm Kemper Freeman is moving ahead with a $1.2 billion expansion of The Bellevue Collection, a regional shopping center located in Bellevue, Wash. The expansion will add two million sq. ft. of retail, office, hotel, residential, dining and entertainment space. The currently four million-sq.-ft. property already houses more than 250 stores and restaurants.
 

Columbus, Ohio – Footwear/accessories retailer DSW Inc. opened a new store in Braintree, Mass., on May 18. The new store is located at 250 Granite Street.

DSW currently operates 377 stores in 42 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Matthews, N.C. – Family Dollar presented its annual Strategic IT Partner of the Year award to Trade Area Systems at its IT Strategic Partner last month. In September 2012, Family Dollar implemented the Trade Area Systems TAS Unity solution to give real estate managers mobile access to a database of real estate photos, comments and other relevant data.

LAS VEGAS — The International Council of Shopping Centers has elected David J. LaRue, president and CEO of Forest City Enterprises, to serve as the association’s chairman for the 2013–2014 term. LaRue assumed his role as chairman at RECon, ICSC’s annual meeting in Las Vegas. 

LaRue is the association’s 54th chairman, succeeding Brad Hutensky, president and principal of Hutensky Capital Partners.

Cincinnatti -- Macy’s plans to close a store located in downtown St. Louis at the Railway Exchange Building on Olive Street, with a final clearance sale beginning Sunday, June 2 that is expected to last about 10 weeks. Macy’s plans to continue operating its other eight stores in the Greater St. Louis area.

DENVER -- Fast food hamburger chain Smashburger plans to more than double its nationwide store count to about 500 in the next few years. The chain currently runs about 200 locations across the US.

According to public comments from Smashburger chariman and CEO Dave Prokupek, the chain may also launch a US IPO at some point in the future. “The idea of good food fast isn’t going to go away anytime soon,” said Prokupek.

BEACHWOOD, Ohio — Ikea and Walmart are among the retailers heading to Charlotte, N.C., to anchor the Belgate Shopping Center. The new 900,000-sq.-ft. shopping center is DDR Corp.’s first ground-up domestic development in more than four years. 

The center will also include junior anchors Marshalls, Old Navy, Petco, ULTA, Cost Plus World Market, Hobby Lobby and Shoe Carnival.

Former Nike executive Tony Moralejo has been appointed chief development officer at Church’s Chicken. Moralejo will be responsible for domestic and international expansion for the global chicken chain, as well as franchising, re-imaging, construction and real estate management. 

He will report directly to president and CEO Jim Hyatt and will be a member of the brand’s executive team.

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Family Dollar has named Trade Area Systems, a supplier of enterprise market knowledge systems for retail, its IT Strategic Partner of the Year. The award was presented during the company’s fifth annual IT Strategic Partner Summit.

Family Dollar worked with Trade Area Systems in September 2012 to implement TAS Unity, an editable, data-collection software system that allows real estate managers to input photos and comments about stores, competitors and opportunities directly into the system from their mobile devices.

New York -- Bloomingdale’s plans to open a 167,000-sq.-ft., three-level store at the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu in fall 2015. It will be the retailer’s first location in the state of Hawaii.

The new store will be part of a redevelopment of a portion of Ala Moana, by GeneralGrowth Properties. Construction will begin in 2014. The upscale chain of department stores, owned by Macy’s, will join a Macy’s store which already operates at the shopping center.