REAL ESTATE

Woodland Hills, Calif. -- LandMark Retail Group, a subsidiary of NewMark Merrill Cos., has partnered with Accubranch, a strategic planning and market research group that specializes in providing real estate advice to the regional banking industry.

Chicago -- Commercial real estate firm Lee & Associates said it has added two senior VPs to its Chicago office.

Joseph Herron and Jason Sorce have both joined Lee & Associates Chicago as part of the firm’s expansion in the Midwest.

The firm also recently added Robyn Smart as a senior advisor in its Indianapolis office.

Herron joins Lee & Associates from Mid-America Real Estate Corp., where he spent 10 years as a retail broker. Sorce was previously with SRS Real Estate Partners and NAI Hiffman.

Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. -- Mid-America Asset Management announced that among the new leases the firm has signed in July and August, there were several large transactions spread across Chicagoland, Southeast Wisconsin and Northwest Indiana.

In Aurora, Ill., home furnishings retailer Premier Furniture Outlet leased 38,975 sq. ft. at Aurora Marketplace, opening in September 1. Anchors include Sports Authority and Hobby Lobby.  
 

New York City -- Macy's is reducing the size of its store in downtown Pittsburgh from nine floors of retail space to six (plus a mezzanine).

The company has been moving some departments to lower floors since early this year. The store will remain open during the renovations.

"The store is being reconfigured for better flow among departments, making shopping easier and more convenient," the company said in a statement.

West Mifflin, Pa. -- Atlanta-based Jones Lang LaSalle announced that it was named as the property and leasing manager for Century III Mall, a 1.2 million-sq.-ft. regional shopping and retail center located in West Mifflin, Pa., near Pittsburgh.

The mall houses more than 100 retail shops, anchored by Macy's, J.C. Penney, Sears and Dick's Sporting Goods.

Plano, Texas -- J.C. Penney Co. said Monday in a regulatory filing that it has allowed shopping center owner Vornado Realty Trust to increase its stake in the department store retailer, from 9.9% to 15.4%.

The move eases a poison-pill restriction that had prevented Vornado from previously buying additional J.C. Penney shares. It mirrors a deal struck with Penney’s largest shareholder William Ackman, who received the go-ahead to up his stake, held through his Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund, from 16.5% to as much as 26.1%.

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.

Indianapolis -- Shopping center owner Simon Property Group said Tuesday that it has again been recognized by the Carbon Disclosure Project with inclusion in its Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index.