Real Estate Roundup: October update
October 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 as reported by Chain Store Age (starting with the most recent).
•Simon subsidiary to acquire University Village in Seattle A subsidiary of the real estate giant has entered into an agreement to purchase University Village, a nearly 600,000-sq.-ft. open-air shopping center in Seattle, located north of downtown and near the University of Washington. The property features more than 100 tenants, including Apple, RH Gallery, Crate & Barrel, Room & Board, Sézane, Lululemon, Aritzia, Vuori and Din Tai Fung.
•South Coast Plaza welcomes slate of new luxury fashion, accessories tenants The Orange County, Calif., shopping center is touting seven recent openings, including Tiffany & Co., Rick Owens, Golden Goose and more, with nine other brands slated to open stores this fall. Known for its collection of luxury tenants, South Coast Plaza is home to more than 230 boutiques and 30 restaurants.
•Kimco invests in refresh of Kentucky lifestyle center The firm will now assume the operation of Fritz Farm in Lexington, Ky., with $104 million in financing funds provided by Blackstone. Opened in 2017 on 36 acres, the center’s premium tenants include Apple, Sephora, Nike, Lululemon, Kendra Scott and William Sonoma. Fritz Farm is 92% occupied.
•Korean retailer Artbox taps CBRE for U.S. expansion; to target West Coast CBRE has been chosen to exclusively represent Artbox in the U.S. Founded in 1984 in Seoul, Artbox has over 220 directly managed stores across South Korea, offering shoppers an array of products spanning stationery, home, wellness, culture, travel, gifts, food and snacks and more. The brand is actively considering the San Francisco Bay Area, greater Los Angeles area and the Pacific Northwest as destinations for growth.
•CoStar: Retail construction activity, new project starts fall in Q3 According to the latest data from CoStar Group, roughly 58.3 million square feet of retail space was under construction in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2026, down from 60.6 million square feet in the second quarter and 63.3 million square feet in the first quarter. Despite being unchanged from a year prior, the metric remains roughly 4% below its prior 10-year average of 60.7 million square feet.
•First Look: Miniso Land debuts in U.S. — here's where Global lifestyle retailer Miniso has brought its Miniso Land store format to the United States with a 15,000-sq.-ft. store at Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio. The concept, which debuted in Shanghai in 2024, is one of the brand’s large-sized store concepts, and is designed to combine immersive IP experiences with discovery-driven retail.
•Whole Foods Market to go big in LA with new flagship The natural and organic grocer is opening a flagship in Los Angeles that will feature several new venues, including a taproom and elevated specialty department. The 63,082-sq.-ft. store, scheduled to open on Nov. 11, is located in the Bloom on Third shopping center. Situated at the intersection of 3rd & Fairfax, the outpost is a relocation of the original Fairfax store next door, which has been open since 2002.
•Wayfair adds second New Jersey store to growth plan The digitally-native home furnishings retailer says it will open a new large-format store at Market Place at Garden State Park in Cherry Hill, N.J. The approximately 86,000-sq.-ft., single-level location is expected to open in late 2028, and will be Wayfair’s 11th store.
•Spirit Christmas returns for third season with more stores, enters new market The holiday-themed retail format plans to open 44 locations across 15 states, including its first-ever stores in Florida. Spirit Christmas, which is part of Spencer Spirit Holdings, debuted in 2024 with 10 stores on the East Coast. It returned last year with 30 locations.
•Upgrades at open-air Colorado center include new tenants, gathering spaces, ice rink One year after acquiring The Promenade Shops at Centerra in Loveland, Colo., for $55 million, Wisconsin-based Galway Companies Inc. is advancing a multimillion-dollar, property-wide reinvestment, signing nine new retailers and restaurants as renovations move forward across the property. The center is anchored by Macy’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble and MetroLux Theatres.
•Build-A-Bear set to open ‘one-of-kind’ destination in Orlando Opening in November, the three-story Build-A-Bear is located in Orlando's Icon Park center, whose tenant roster includes Madame Tussauds, Sea Life Aquarium and the Museum of Illusions. The new store’s attractions include one-on-one design collaboration, cookie and cupcake decorating and a customization station.
•Birmingham’s premier retail destination has a new owner The Summit, which has a tenant roster that includes Apple, Nordstrom Rack, Trader Joes, West Elm and P.F. Chang's, has been acquired by Federal Realty for $508 million. The mall sits between Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills, two of Birmingham, Ala.’s most affluent communities.
