REAL ESTATE

Butler employs social media to tame Irma’s effects
As Hurricane Irma moved northward up the Florida peninsula, Butler Enterprises was ready with a plan to use social media to keep beleaguered Gainesville residents supplied with necessities.
How retailers can recoup funds with CAM Audits
The continued popularity and development of town centers and lifestyle centers have made it clear that retailers can no longer go it alone. They must co-exist in a symbiotic live-work-play environment, and that means they must also co-exist with the different demands and cost structures of residential and office spaces.

Food and bed highlight OKC center’s expansion

Three restaurants and a hotel claimed four of the seven new out-parcels The Market at Czech Hall in Oklahoma City. Developer GBT Realty announced that Hooters, Arby’s, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, and Sleep Inn have signed leases at the 160,000-sq.-ft. “regional neighborhood center” on Interstate 40.
Burlington to open in Sears hole at Magnolia Mall

PREIT announced that it has fully leased the space vacated by Sears at Magnolia Mall, nine months after the store closed shop at the Florence, South Carolina, property. Burlington opens in a 46,000-sq.-ft. space there this week. It will be joined by HomeGoods (20,000 sq. ft.) and Five Below (8,500 sq. ft.) in the spring. Also slated to open at that time is a 20,000-sq.-ft. H&M store.
ICSC: Omnichannel shoppers to rule this holiday

Nearly all shoppers will be shopping a variety of channels this holiday season. Ninety-six percent of shoppers plan to make a purchase from a retailer who has both a physical and an online presence, with 40% of them buying online and picking up in-store, according to a report by the International Council of Shopping Centers. And 81% of those shoppers plan to make additional purchases when collecting their item(s).
When malls were the disruptors of retail

To work in retail is to accept the inevitability of déjà vu. But what returns is often never quite the same, as can be seen in the current struggle by many shopping malls to generate enough traffic to remain viable. Let me take you back to the days of my initiation to retail in New Orleans (site of next week’s National Retail Tenants Association conference), when malls began rising in former fields and woodlands and store owners in all regions struggled to manage the change.
Licensing agreement helps teen retailer expand into India

American Eagle Outfitters is entering an emerging global retail market. The teen retailer is preparing for its debut in India. American Eagle’s expansion will be supported through a multi-year license agreement with the Aditya Birla Group. The Indian conglomerate has an extensive retail portfolio, as well as strong digital and omnichannel capabilities. The first stores are expected to open in Mumbai and Delhi in Spring 2018.
Brixmor works to re-open 14 Irma-damaged properties

A limited number of tenants have been able to re-open their stores at 14 Brixmor properties severely damaged by Hurricane Irma. The company’s remaining 116 properties in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama are open and operating. The partially opened properties, which were not named in the report from Brixmor, suffered wind and water related damages and power outages.
Texas developer partners with United Way on Harvey

Fort Worth-based Trademark Property Co. has launched fundraisers at its properties in Texas to aid victims of Hurricane Harvey. Proceeds will be distributed via United Way, which is waiving all general and administrative fees in the arrangement with Trademark. Tenants, financial partners, customers, and the community are being engaged in events, and Trademark has pledged to match up to $150,000 in donations. Miller Capital Advisory has pledged a matching donation total of $50,000 for fund collected at La Palmer in Corpus Christi.
Malls and the mixed-use fix

As architects who have completed lots of projects for retail, we are often approached by mall owners looking to resurrect properties by turning them into mixed-use developments. The truth is that while mixed-use can be a fix for troubled malls, it’s not an easy fix.