Supermarket/Grocery

Chestnut Hill, Mass. -- WS Capital Partners, the institutional investment arm of WS Development, announced that it has completed the acquisition of Hilldale Shopping Center, a 474,000-sq.-ft. retail center located in Madison, Wis.

Anchored by Macy’s, Metcalfe’s Market, Sundance Cinemas and Target, Hilldale Shopping Center serves the entire Madison metropolitan area, including the nearby University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Houston -- Wulfe & Co., managing partner of Blvd Place, said that construction has started on Phase II of the mixed-use development located in The Uptown District of Houston.

Blvd Place will contain retail, office and residential components in an urban environment. This phase of the project is 60% pre-leased and will contain approximately 211,000 sq. ft. of upscale retail, restaurant and office space. The retail space will be anchored by a 48,500-sq.-ft. Whole Foods Market.

Publix is making its North Carolina debut with the planned opening of a new store in the greater Charlotte area.

The company has signed a lease for a store at Providence Road West and Johnston Road in Ballantyne. The store will be part of a new division based in Charlotte.

While Ballantyne marks Publix’s long awaited entry into North Carolina, the company is looking ahead to continued growth within the state and in its current operating areas of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee.

Oak Brook, Ill. -- Inland Diversified Real Estate Trust announced it has raised over $1.1 billion of investor capital, which will be used to continue the company’s acquisitions of a diversified portfolio of commercial real estate properties.

“We believe that we have built an outstanding portfolio of stable, performing commercial real estate assets with very high occupancy, generating sustainable distributions for our investors,” said Barry Lazarus, president and COO of Inland Diversified.

Shrewsbury, Mass. -- Charter Realty & Development said it has arranged six leases, totaling 33,191 sq. ft., in the White City Shopping Center located in Shrewsbury, Mass.

Planet Fitness will open a 19,079-sq.-ft. facility, Elements Massage will open a 3,520-sq.-ft. unit, which was co-brokered with Blake Commercial, and Two Ovens will open a 3,532-sq.-ft. restaurant, which was co-brokered with Gallivan & Co.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Regional supermarket chain Big Y is catering to customers' bundles of joy with the launch of a new loyalty program.

Lakeland, Fla. -- Publix Super Markets announced that it has signed a lease for its first store in the state of North Carolina. The company said it is looking forward to continued growth in the state, and that the new location will be part of a new division based in Charlotte.

The 56,000-sq. ft. store, which will be located in Ballantyne, N.C., is scheduled to open in early 2014.
 

Whole Foods seems to have figured out that a mall setting shouldn’t be a real estate deterrent. In fact, it might be a real asset.

The grocer has been stretching its site-selection wings over the last couple of years, but has positively taken flight with its latest opening – a 32,000-sq.-ft. store at the Fashion Island regional shopping center in Orange County, Calif.