Microsoft

State-of-the-art digital screens that can identify demographic information of passersby and pitch them personalized offers from brands are making their way into Westfield malls in top DMAs.   Employing a proprietary suite of technologies, the six-foot-tall, high-definition screens scan passersby and — apparently through smartphone data and facial imaging — determine their demographic profiles to serve them customized ads.  

Pacific Place, a 20-year-old luxury retail center in downtown Seattle, will be undergoing an extensive re-do beginning the fourth quarter of this year.   The 330,000-sq.-ft. home to Nordstrom’s flagship store, Barneys New York, and Tiffany & Co. will get a new South Lake-facing grand entrance to make way for added space that will accommodate upgraded restaurant tenants.  

Developers of a 350,000-sq.-ft. outlet mall in Staten Island’s burgeoning St. George district have looked across the New York Narrows to enlist the help of one of Manhattan’s most noted real estate brokers.  

Rouse Properties has divested itself of an 821,564 center in Eugene, Oregon, whose tenants include Target, Cinemark, Cabela’s, Kohl’s, Hobby Lobby, and Ulta. The Shoppes at Gateway was purchased by Balboa Retail Partners for an undisclosed amount.   “The Shoppes at Gateway is a thriving shopping center that drew significant investor interest," said JLL EVP Geoff Tranchina, who represented Rouse in the deal. JLL will continue on as the managing agent of the property.  

Avison Young has bought a Raleigh, North Carolina-based leasing and property management company and, in the process, added 65 shopping centers to its listings in the Carolinas.   The acquired company, Hunter & Associates, was founded in 1989 by Banks Hunter when he took over management of the historic Professional Building in downtown Raleigh. Hunter focused its efforts on the leasing and management of neighborhood and community centers to become the largest, locally-based retail brokerage in the region.  

An official from the town of North Myrtle Beach in South Carolina is looking forward to more jobs and tourist income from the expansion of a shopping center in the beach resort area.   RealtyLink, a developer of power centers in the Southeast and Midwest, is about halfway done with its phase three expansion of the Coastal North Town Center & Village Shoppes on Highway 17. The 147,000-sq.-ft. addition will take the center size beyond 540,000 sq. ft.  

Jones Lang LaSalle has announced the hiring of two new vice presidents to handle leasing of third-party-managed retail properties in West Coast markets.  

New Jersey’s answer to Chipotle has signed a lease for another location in that state.   Bubbako’s Burritos, a made-to-order chain that got its start in the popular Jersey shore town of Point Pleasant, has signed a lease for a 1,900-sq.-ft. restaurant at Aldrich Plaza in Howell. Other tenants there include Bed, Bath & Beyond, Retro Fitness, and Boston Market.