Supermarket/Grocery

Irvine Co.'s The Market Place is too big for one city. It sprawls across two. Split in two by Jamboree Road, the southern half of the 120-store, 165-acre center resides in Irvine, Calif. The northern half is in Tustin.

The huge regional destination center combines open-air lifestyle retail with big-box retail. Nationally known value- and quality-driven store names offer apparel, books, electronics, fitness, groceries, home furnishings and decor, movie theaters, restaurants, various services, sporting goods, toys, and on and on.

Honolulu -- Jones Lang LaSalle said that it has named Wendell Brooks III as senior VP of the firm’s retail brokerage business in Hawaii.

Brooks will work closely with Hawaii Retail Market Lead Kirk Horiuchi to assist landlord and retail clients. He will be joined by James “Kimo” Greenwell and Robert Kelley, who will focus on retail leasing and sales.  Additionally, Melissa Masicampo joins the firm as brokerage coordinator and Mark Ching joins as graphic designer and marketing specialist to support the growing retail team.

New York -- North American consumers opened their wallets in the first quarter of 2013 and exhibited a desire to spend again, although they remain cautious, according to the Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions. Forty-two percent said they plan to spend on discretionary items this year, a six-point rise from fourth quarter 2012, and up from the average of 33% over the past three years.

AUSTIN, Texas — H-E-B announced the statewide winners of its 12th annual H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards during a banquet at Austin’s Hilton Hotel.

At the ceremony, H-E-B chairman and CEO Charles Butt disbursed $585,000 in cash awards and grants and personally congratulated 23 educators, campuses, school districts and one early childhood agency for being among the best in Texas.

Los Angeles -- Midtown Shopping Center Associates said it has acquired the land under Midtown Shopping Center plus two adjacent properties totaling 14.56 acres for $42.5 million from Catellus Development Corp., based in Denver.  

NEW YORK — The world’s largest retailers have been scaling back their global expansion activities, particularly in Asia, and turning their attention inward by integrating operations and strengthening their store, Internet and mobile sales channels, according to a new report by Accenture. 

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens posted April sales of $6 billion, an increase of 3.8% as compared to the same month in fiscal 2012. 

Total front-end sales decreased 2.9%, while comparable store front-end sales decreased 4.3%. Customer traffic in comparable stores decreased 5.9% while basket size increased 1.6%.

With the breathtaking Twin Peaks of the Colorado Rockies as backdrop, a new project underway in Longmont, Colo., is leveraging both the views and community demand to create a “top drawer outdoor village experience,” said Allen Ginsborg, managing director and principal of NewMark Merrill Mountain States, based in Fort Collins, Colo.