Retail

Los Angeles — Mack Urban Real Estate Group and AECOM Capital have acquired six acres in the Los Angeles central business district. The $80 million transaction is the largest land acquisition in the CBD since before the recession. The seller was EVOQ Properties.

The acquisition is part of a Mack Urban and AECOM plan to build a portfolio of class A, institutional quality multifamily developments in West Coast gateway cities.

A recent string of media reports has focused on major retailers that track customers who return merchandise. While the plaintiffs’ bar and the media are seeking to transform return monitoring into a headline-grabbing consumer privacy issue, the practice is hardly new, it is certainly justified as an anti-fraud measure and any litigation or compliance risk should be mitigated by appropriate disclosures.

Rockville, Md. — Super Chicken has taken 3,436 sq. ft. of space at Waldorf Shoppers World in Waldorf, Md. The restaurant specializes in Peruvian-style chicken dishes and operates seven locations in the greater Washington, D.C., area.

Divaris Real Estate represented the tenant, Chicken Rico Waldorf in the lease negotiations.

Dick’s Sporting Goods 2013 store expansion efforts are winding down, but not before the retailer opens a new unit next week in Albuquerque, N.M., and mixed martial artist Carlos Condit participates in grand opening festivities.

Denver — Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage has announced the grand opening of a second store in Tulsa, Okla., on Oct. 22.

The store will have its first free cooking class at noon on opening day, with nationally recognized nutrition expert Cary Tamburro, BS, making “Smoothies to Jump Start Your Health.”

Salt Lake City -- PECO Net Lease Income Fund (NLIF) has acquired four properties including two Family Dollar stores in New Mexico and two Raising Cane's restaurants, including one in Lexington, Ky., and one in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

Most retailers now have some sort of social presence, but too often it consists of having an account on popular social media networks and little more. Following are five examples of recent retail social media offerings that leverage social media’s unique ability to engage consumers, improve operations and boost profits.

American Eagle – ‘Rock Your Walk’

Plano, Texas – J.C. Penney Company, Inc. has reportedly named Jan Hodges, a senior marketing executive who has been with the retailer for 25 years, to the position of senior VP and general manager of home goods. According to Reuters, Penney CEO Myron Ullman sent out an employee memo on Oct. 3 informing workers that Hodges would assume the new position on Nov. 1.