REAL ESTATE

Phoenix — The metropolitan Phoenix retail market ended the third quarter with a retail vacancy rate at 10.5%, down nearly a full point from 11.3% a year ago, according to CBRE’s Phoenix Retail MarketView report for the third quarter.

The market recorded positive absorption of 385,625 sq. ft. for the quarter and so far this year has absorbed 1.1 million sq. ft.

Boca Raton, Fla. – The Altman Companies has closed on 10 acres in the Westchase area of Tampa, Fla., with close proximity to downtown and Clearwater. Construction on the 239-unit mixed-use Altis at Highland Park rental community is scheduled to start right away with first units to be delivered in July 2014.

The community will feature a mix of 239 apartments and 5,000 sq. ft. of retail space. Lender for the development is PNC Bank.

Dodgeville, Wis. — Lands’ End has announced the opening of its first standalone store within a shopping mall — in the Yorktown Center Mall in Lombard, Ill., a Chicago suburb.

The store is slated to open on Nov. 15. For each sale made during the Grand Opening Event, the store will donate $50 to the Glen Ellyn food Pantry for a Thanksgiving Food Box meal.

New York -- Saks Fifth Avenue is set to unveil a newly renovated men’s store at its Boca Raton, Fla., location in the Town Center at Boca Raton on Nov. 20.

The renovations focus on several enhancements, including six new dedicated vendor shops from Corneliani, Dolce & Gabbana, Ermenegildo Zegna, Armani Collezioni, Hugo Boss and Ralph Lauren Black Label, plus a denim shop and a new space for the exclusive Saks Fifth Avenue Men’s Collection.

San Antonio, Texas — Transwestern’s San Antonio office today announced that it has completed the sale of Rosenberg Center in Rosenberg, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Built in 1986, the 113,430-sq.-ft. neighborhood retail center serves a commercial corridor between Rosenberg and Richmond, Texas. A private investor bought the property for an undisclosed amount from Rosenberg Station LLC.

Sidney, Neb. -- Cabela’s Inc. announced  plans to enter three new markets – Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada; Garner, N.C.; and Sun Prairie, Wis.

Construction on Cabela’s 100,000-sq. ft. Garner store – its first North Carolina location – is scheduled to begin next summer. The store is expected to open in spring of 2015.

Bentonville, Ark. – Wal-Mart Stores plans to open as many as 110 stores in China between 2014 and 2016, as well as several new Sam’s Club locations there. The new stores will employ as many as 19,000 people.

Louisville, Ky. — The Mansour Group has announced the sale of Pet Smart and TJ Maxx, a 49,410-sq.-ft. retail box on an outparcel located in a 218,000-sq.-ft. shopping center owned by Weingarten. The seller was a national real estate advisory group and the buyer was a private investor.

 The offering is part of a large portfolio of similar former Service Merchandise assets — all exclusively listed by The Mansour Group.