Microsoft

The first enclosed mall on Massachusetts South Shore will undergo a $40 million conversion to an open-air center under the ownership of a spun-off unit of Phillips Edison & Company.   The 732,000-sq.-ft. Hanover Mall in Pembroke Massachusetts — anchored by Macy’s, Sears, and Walmart — was purchased last fall by PECO Real Estate Partners, which operates under the name PREP. Built in 1971 and last renovated in 2004, the center has direct access to Route 3, the major thoroughfare joining towns south of Boston.

As Amazon continues to ready its cashierless convenience store concept for the public, the company has lost one of the project’s technology leaders.  

Will public spaces be the new anchor tenants in the shopping centers and mixed-use facilities of the 21st Century?   That’s the opinion of J. Wickham Zimmerman, whose construction company Outside the Lines is unveiling a Bellagio-esque fountain that will present choreographed water shows at Legacy West in Plano, Texas.   “Retailers recognize the importance of integrating thoughtfully designed gathering spaces and artful show fountains to drive foot traffic,” Zimmerman said.

The nation’s fastest-growing planned community keeps speeding along.   The Tavistock development, which already has 12,000 permanent residents, will add another thousand visitors a week thanks to a KPMG training facility that broke ground this week. In addition, the $400 million facility will house an employee staff of 330.  

Green Top Grocery has opened and will anchor The Foundry, a center situated on a boundary between manufacturing and residential neighborhoods in Bloomington, Minnesota.   Green Top could represent the burgeoning of a new player in the fresh and organic grocery segment in shopping centers: the local cooperative. Owned by 1,500-plus local residents, the Green Top co-op attempts to source products from farmers and vendors within a 100-mile radius of Bloomington.  

Amazon may be looking to bolster its enterprise services offering with an innovative addition.   Corporate chatroom startup Slack Technologies has received inquiries of late about a potential takeover from technology companies, including Amazon. The company is valued at approximately $9 billion, according to Bloomberg.  

The J.C. Penney store in Edina, Minnesota, with little movement in the aisles is about to see a lot more action.    Simon has announced that the 120,000-sq.-ft. space at its Southdale Center will close and be replaced by a Life Time ‘athletic resort.’ The company runs 123 centers in the U.S. promoting healthy eating and exercise regimens. Centers are one-stop fitness shops offering tennis, swimming, basketball, and yoga along with weight loss and nutrition education.  

The Toronto-based Slate Retail REIT announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire five grocery-anchored centers in Florida and Pennsylvania for a total of $105 million.   “This five-asset portfolio meets all of our acquisition criteria -- attractive returns, markets we like that add scale, pricing well below replacement cost, strong anchors, and in-place rents that are below market,” said Slate CEO Greg Stevenson.