Retail

Philadelphia -- Metro Commercial announced that Allen Edmonds has opened a flagship shoe store in Philadelphia, located at the corner of 18th & Chestnut Streets.

The 1,900-sq.-ft. store opened in February.

Metro Commercial negotiated the lease on behalf of the landlord Midwood Investment & Development.    

Dallas/Fort Worth -- Venture Commercial said it has represented tenants Sola Salon Studios and Guitar Center in the completion of two D-FW leases, totaling 22,400 sq. ft. of space.

Sola Salon Studios has opened a new 10,237-sq.-ft. studio in the Marketplace at Highland Village shopping center, the chain’s fifth location in Texas.

Guitar Center leased 12,163 sq. ft. at Town East Crossing in Mesquite, Texas.

Cleveland -- CenterMark Development has announced plans to build a 10,010-sq.-ft. Dollar Tree store in Cleveland, the first ground-up construction of a free-standing Dollar Tree store in the City of Cleveland.

The project breaks ground in March with completion scheduled for August 2013. Construction financing was provided by PNC Bank. HCI is serving as general contractor.  

Phoenix -- Leslie’s Poolmart will celebrate the grand opening of 13 new locations throughout the United States on March 15.

In total, Leslie's plans to open 48 stores this year, between March and May. With these new stores and its recent acquisition of 24 Warehouse Pool Supply stores in the Houston area, Leslie's will bring its total store count to more than 800 stores nationwide.

Columbus, Ohio -- Express said its fourth-quarter net income rose a better-than-expected 6%, but its full-year projection for earnings came up short as the retailer provided a weak outlook.
   
Express, similar to many other retailers, had less traffic in February, as higher taxes and rising gas prices cut into shoppers’ discretionary spending.
 
For the period ended Feb. 2, Express Inc. earned $63.9 million, up from $60.4 million a year earlier.

New York -- Retail spending in the United States rose a better-than-expected 1.1% in February, the highest increase since September, according to figures released Wednesday by the Commerce Department.

Sales, excluding gasoline, building materials and autos, rose 0.4%. Industry experts said that consumer spending is holding up even in the face of the higher payroll tax.

Houston -- Brixmor Property Group said that Petco will open a new 12,150-sq.-ft. store at Merchants Park, in Houston.

Brixmor, based in New York City, is the owner of Merchants Park.

Panama City Beach, Fla. -- Columbus, Ohio-based Casto said that its JV partners The St. Joe Co. and Strategic Retail Advisors, along with U.S. Bank, have closed on a $46 million construction loan that will finance The Pier Park North Shopping Center, a 360,000-sq.-ft. shopping center in Panama City Beach, Fla.