REAL ESTATE

Dallas -- Lucernex Technologies said Tuesday that Aaron’s has selected Lucernex’s Lx Retail to manage its over 1,800 stores in 48 states and Canada.

“After evaluating our operational requirements, we realized that we needed more than just a replacement for our legacy lease administration system.  We needed an integrated approach to managing our real estate. Lucernex offers a solution that will allow us to manage the entire store life cycle in one database and on one platform,” said senior VP real estate, Paul Doize.

New York City -- Starbucks Coffee Co. plans to expand in Latin America after concentrating in recent past years more on Asia, founder and CEO Howard Schultz said at a presentation in Madrid, Bloomberg reported.

The chain as about $2 billion in cash to invest in an “aggressive and opportunistic way,” Schultz said, and is especially interested in Brazil, according to the report.

Bridgeview, Ill. -- Rose Paving Co. has completed a major parking feet enhancement program at 7-Eleven locations in the northeastern United States. The project, which involved 970,463 sq. ft. of space, spanned the course of five weeks. Work ranged from two-inch mill and overlay to full parking lot reconstruction at more than 75 7-Eleven stores in Maryland, New Jersey, and Virginia -- all while stores remained open.

Chicago -- Urban Retail Properties, LLC said it has been awarded the contract by Garrison Investment Group to provide management and leasing services for four regional shopping centers, effective immediately.

Urban will assume third-party responsibilities for Chapel Hills Mall (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Central Mall (Salina, Kan.), Decatur Mall (Decatur, Ala.) and Lakeshore Mall (Gainesville, Ga.).

Boston -- City Sports will open its 19th store, in Wellesley, Mass., during the last week of September. The location features a dramatic façade, with a wraparound steel awning and tall windows that showcase the interior design and product assortment. Inside, an interactive electronics room offers shoppers the use of in-store iPads to access information about products on the company's website as well as the ability to wear-test headphones

Placentia, Calif. -- LaVida Massage, a Commerce, Mich.-based massage and wellness center, announced the opening of a new LaVida location in California, as well as the addition of a new master franchisee in southern California.

The new 3,700-sq.-ft. center, located in Placentia, is slated to open Sept. 19.

New master franchisee Deby Goodman will own and manage the newest store, as well as will be responsible for building new LaVida operations specific to the southern California market.
 

Lenexa, Kan. -- Retail Group of America, owner of Strasburg Children stores, has announced the appointment of Joanna B. Shawver as VP real estate. She will lead the company’s real estate expansion strategy in the United States.

Shawver brings more than 20 years of commercial real estate experience to her new role, with specialties in tenant representation and shopping center leasing. Most recently, she was VP leasing with RED Development, a Kansas City and Phoenix-based real estate development firm.
 

Seattle -- Nordstrom opened the doors to its newest store, in Nashville, Tenn.

The 149,000-sq.-ft. store is located in The Mall at Green Hills.