Real Estate Roundup: April update
April had its fair share of retail real estate development news, tenant updates, property acquisitions and more.
Here are some of the biggest real estate news stories from the month (starting with the most recent).
•Mixed-use redevelopment project underway at Westfield Garden State Plaza Mall owner and operator Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) and its co-developer, Mill Creek Residential (MCR), have broken ground on the first phase of the mixed-use “redensification” of Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J. The project will include a one-acre town square park, green space and 575 luxury apartment homes.
•One Piece trading card shop to open at Mall of Georgia this summer Japan-based Bandai Namco, a global leader in entertainment and collectibles, is continuing its U.S. retail expansion with the opening this summer of a new One Piece Card Game Official Shop at the Mall of Georgia, located in the Atlanta suburb of Buford. The 1,801-sq.-ft. store will offer One Piece trading card products, merchandise and an “immersive fan experience” centered around gameplay, community events and competitive tournaments.
•CoStar: Retail rent growth slows to 1.9% in Q1 According to a recent report from CoStar Group, U.S. retail asking rent growth slowed to 1.9% year over year in the first quarter of 2026, extending a downward trend that began in 2024. Several Sunbelt markets that led rent growth earlier in the cycle, including Phoenix, Orlando, Atlanta, and Charlotte, still posted solid year-over-year gains at the end of the first quarter, but growth rates have slowed as asking rents plateau.
•Chicken Salad Chick adds 50-plus restaurants to pipeline in Q1 The fast-casual chicken salad chain awarded 52 new restaurants in the first quarter of 2026, marking a nearly 50% increase compared to 35 deals in the first quarter of 2025. Chicken Salad Chick says this makes Q1 2026 the strongest quarter of franchise development in company history.
•A&G puts Walgreens leases on the market — here's where A&G Real Estate Partners is seeking offers for 60 Walgreens leases and 18 fee-owned land parcels, stores and other real estate assets across 27 states and Puerto Rico. The fee-owned and leased buildings range from 2,070 to 23,509 square feet, while the undeveloped fee-owned parcels range from .12 to 20.86 acres.
•Miniso, Boot Barn, dining chains among new BLVD Las Vegas tenants Miniso, Boot Barn and Sunglass Hut are among the new arrivals at BLVD Las Vegas, which saw construction finish last year. Developed by Gindi Capital, the property features 700 feet of coveted Las Vegas Strip frontage, 400,000 total square feet of retail space across three levels, and a 110,000-sq.-ft. rooftop venue.
•American Dream to debut a 3,000-seat theater Later this spring, the Dream Live Performing Arts Center will open its doors to a wide range of theater, dance, comedy, and live concerts. The 3,000-capacity venue at American Dream will feature a state-of-the-art L-Acoustics sound system, along with best-in-class lighting and video production capabilities to support world-class performances.
•7-Eleven to close 600-plus stores in U.S., Canada and Mexico The convenience store giant is planning to close 645 stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico during its current fiscal year, which started March 1. At the same time, however, the company is also investing in new store growth. The company expects to open approximately 200 new 7-Eleven stores in North America during its current fiscal year, which started March.
•Zoning approval granted for 156-acre mixed-use project in Plano Dallas-based Rosewood Property Company has been granted zoning approval from Plano, Texas, to reimagine what was to be an office park as a mixed-use project called Heritage Creekside that will feature retail, restaurant, entertainment, and residential components. Tenants will include Taco Joint, Pax & Beneficia, Flying Fish, Rodeo Goat, Crossroads Diner, and Orangetheory Fitness.
•CoStar: Retail space construction down year over year in Q1 Recent data from real estate analytics firm CoStar found that in the first quarter of 2026, roughly 64.2 million square feet of retail space was under construction in the U.S., down from approximately 70 million square feet a year earlier. The first quarter total was also well below the 10-year average, which consistently exceeded 90 million square feet during the last expansion cycle.
