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At the World Trade Center Mall, honoring heroes is an everyday thing
Outside the Oculus, the skeletal edifice that houses the World Trade Center’s transportation hub, thousands gathered this week to honor American heroes who lost their lives there on 9-11. Inside the Oculus, Westfield’s mall has been honoring America’s military heroes ever since it opened a year ago. Before any store opened its doors, Westfield staged a job fair aimed at enlisting veterans to come to work at Ground Zero.
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Howard Hughes CEO re-ups for 10 years

David Weinreb, who took The Howard Hughes Corporation public, will now take the company well into the next decade. The Dallas-based company announced it has entered into a new employment agreement with Weinreb that runs through 2027. As part of the deal, Weinreb completed the acquisition of nearly two million stock warrants in the company at a cost of $50 million.
PREIT sells Altoona mall for $33 million

PREIT, which has long been pursuing a strategy of unloading underperforming malls from its portfolio, announced it has sold the Logan Valley Mall for $33.2 million net of credits issued to the buyer. The new owner’s identity was not released. The Altoona, Pennsylvania, mall -- anchored by Macy's, J.C. Penney and Sears -- had been turning in sales-per-square-foot of $324 versus an average of $475 for the rest of the PREIT portfolio.
Westfield signs deal with Uber

Westfield’s billion-dollar renovation of its Century City Mall in Los Angeles will include a swanky Uber Lounge when it is completed this fall. Westfield has formed a partnership with Uber to facilitate use of shared rides at its centers nationwide. The mall owner will create drop-off and pick-up stations at every one of its U.S. properties, whose locations will be digitally mapped into the Uber app. The idea: make pick-ups and drop-offs easier and build mall traffic.
Online home brand opens first store at Short Hills

Boll & Branch, until now an online-only seller of towels and linens, has opened its first brick-and-mortar location at the Short Hills Mall in New Jersey. Claiming to sell the “World’s Most Comfortable Sheets,” Boll & Branch also offers towels and will inhabit a 2,137-sq.-ft. shop at the high-end, suburban mall known as one of the few to house Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, and Macy’s under one roof.
Online giant’s partnership expands Alexa’s reach

Amazon’s newest move could take voice-assisted ordering to new levels. The online giant is joining forces with Microsoft to integrate the companies' two digital assistants. This will allow Amazon’s Alexa to activate and talk to Microsoft’s Cortana device, and vice-versa.
Simon Property Group vs. Starbucks: Precedent setting?

Simon Property Group raised eyebrows in the real estate and retail communities this week with the filing a suit that challenged Starbucks’ decision to close 78 Teavana stores in Simon malls. All retailer 379 of the tea shops are slated for closure through next year.
Virginia’s Mark Center is acquired for $509 million

In what it claims to be the biggest-dollar real estate transaction in the state of Virginia this year, Morgan Properties bought the Mark Center in Alexandria for $509 million. The Mark Center combines 2,664 residential units with 63,320 sq. ft. of retail on 150 acres within the Capital Beltway. The site features read access to Interstates 295, 395, and 495 and is within minutes of downtown Washington, D.C.
Westfield Century City breaks into show biz

With traditional anchors closing shop, malls nationwide are struggling to make themselves part of the entertainment business. None, however, are likely to do it as literally as Westfield’s Century City.