Microsoft

New York-based Clarion Partners has acquired Brookside Shops, a Trader Joe’s-anchored center in Acton, Massachusetts. The company did not disclose the purchase price.   “Brookside Shops is a well-positioned retail center with excellent fundamentals located in a highly affluent trade area,” said Clarion director Gary Rufrano.  

Macerich is offering retailers a promotional connection to smartphone shoppers at 22 of its properties.   Shoppers will be able to access the StepsAway app via mall Wi-Fi and search for products by category or individual retailer. Macerich tenants can create and deliver promotional offers through a cloud-based platform installed at the company’s headquarters.  

7-Eleven is in the process of widening its presence in New Jersey from the New York City suburbs to southern shore towns.   The convenience store chain’s leasing company in the area, R.J. Brunelli, says it is searching for 2,800-sq.-ft. to 3,000-sq.-ft. free-standing or end cap units in Union, Ocean, Monmouth, Mercer, and Middlesex counties. Suburban sites must be situated on roads with minimum traffic counts of 15,000 vehicles a day and must have lot sizes of at least 12,000 sq. ft. to accommodate 10 parking spaces.

Phillips Edison & Company, a leading national player in grocery-anchored centers, has promoted David Wik to senior VP of acquisitions.   In his past six years with the company, most recently spearheading growth in the Southeast, Wik sourced the acquisition of more than 100 assets representing $1 billion-plus in investments for the company’s several REITs. He previously worked in acquisitions at Midland Atlantic Development.  

An international study conducted by Capgemini found 80% of retail executives believing in the sanctity of the physical store. Only 45% of shoppers, however, felt the same way.   The consulting company’s Digital Transformation Institute surveyed 6,000 consumers and 500 retailers in the U.S., China, and seven European nations and found a consumer base much more taken up with technology and online shopping than leading merchants were.  

After nearly 30 years of doing business in the MainPlace Mall in Santa Ana, California, Nordstrom has announced it will be shuttering the location.  

Time Equities has acquired Colony Square, a 425,430-sq.-ft. mall in Zanesville, Ohio, for $31.5 million. It’s now the largest property in the company’s Ohio portfolio.   The enclosed regional mall is anchored by J.C. Penney, Cinemark, Dunham’s Sports, and the Elder-Beerman department store. Urban Retail Properties will handle management, marketing, and leasing at the property on behalf of TEI.  

Some two decades ago Times Square underwent a radical transformation from New York City’s sin center to its version of Disneyland, a magnet of bright lights of wholesome fare that has become a must-stop for all tourists.