REAL ESTATE

Newport Beach, Calif. -- Grubb & Ellis Co. said that Cole Real Estate Investments has selected members of the company’s Retail Group to lease Whittwood Town Center, a 686,211-sq.-ft. shopping center in Whittier, Calif.

Whittwood Town Center is approximately 97% leased, with national tenants including J.C. Penney, Target, Vons, Kohl’s, PetSmart, 24 Hour Fitness and Panera Bread.

Encino, Calif. -- Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services said it has promoted Bill Rose to director of the National Retail Group.

Rose joined Marcus & Millichap’s San Diego office in September 2003 as a retail and multifamily investment specialist. He was promoted to senior associate in September 2006. He rejoined the firm in November 2009 as sales manager of the San Diego office and in November 2010 was named western regional director of the NRG.
 

Irvine, Calif. -- Passco Cos. LLC said it has purchased four CVS stores in sale-leaseback deals.
 
All four stores are newly constructed and recently opened by CVS, typical of the prototype for newer CVS retail/pharmacy stores. These features include drive-thru pharmacies, pick up stations, integration of CVS merchandise plans with interior design, and exterior signage modified to meet local ordinances.

Plymouth Meeting, Pa. -- Fameco Real Estate announced that it is opening an office in center city Philadelphia to better accommodate the growth of its clientele in the market. 

Willow Grove, Pa. -- Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust said that Jos. A. Bank has opened at Willow Grove Park, in Willow Grove, Pa.

The 4,465-sq.-ft. store is located next to Bloomingdale’s and joins other men’s fashion collection stores Men’s Wearhouse and Tux, Express, J. Crew, Banana Republic and Guess.

Houston -- The Vista Cos. and Vista Spring Green, Ltd. announced that McDonald's USA has signed a 56,000-sq.-ft. ground lease at The Plazas at Spring Green.

Construction on a new 4,800-sq.-ft. McDonald’s restaurant will begin in the coming weeks and is set to open in November.

The Plazas at Spring Green, a Vista Equities Group development, is located in Katy, Texas.

Fort Worth, Texas -- Trademark Property Co. said it is relaunching its WestBend mixed-use development in Fort Worth, Texas.

The move comes after strategically halting construction in fall of 2008 to wait for a recovery in the retail market. The first order of business will be the completion of the seven-level garage providing 798 parking spaces to serve the existing office buildings and restaurants. Additional new retail construction is slated to begin in mid-2012 with a grand opening projected for late 2013.

Las Vegas -- The Forum Shops at Caesars, in Las Vegas, announced that six new stores will be opening soon, joining the 11 new stores and restaurants that have come to The Forum Shops in the past year.

The new stores include Christian Louboutin, Rimowa, Panerai, Hublot and Coach Mens – a first in Las Vegas.