REAL ESTATE

Avison Young expands reach in the Carolinas
Avison Young has bought a Raleigh, North Carolina-based leasing and property management company and, in the process, added 65 shopping centers to its listings in the Carolinas. The acquired company, Hunter & Associates, was founded in 1989 by Banks Hunter when he took over management of the historic Professional Building in downtown Raleigh. Hunter focused its efforts on the leasing and management of neighborhood and community centers to become the largest, locally-based retail brokerage in the region.
Target to open in Macy’s backyard in NYC
Target Corp. is bringing its small-format store to the heart of Manhattan. The discounter plans to open its first location in mid-town Manhattan, a 43,000-sq.-ft. store in Herald Square, just west of the 34th Street and Broadway intersection, and one block from Penn Station — and across the street from the Macy’s flagship.

Retailers: Detroit wants you! (And you should want Detroit.)

Detroit is one of the most encouraging and intriguing stories to develop in the wake of the Great Recession. With investment, development, and redevelopment booming downtown, office and multi-family momentum has spurred a retail revival. The Motor City is revving its retail engine and is well on the way to arriving as a true retail destination for the first time in decades.
JLL names new West Coast leasing VPs

Jones Lang LaSalle has announced the hiring of two new vice presidents to handle leasing of third-party-managed retail properties in West Coast markets.
Penney details stores marked for closing

The ax has fallen: J.C. Penney has released the list of 138 stores it plans to close.
Off-pricers in big expansion push

Forget about online. The biggest threat to Macy’s and other department store retailers is coming from bricks-and-mortar. Speaking at a recent conference in New York City, Macy's CFO Karen Hoguet said off-price retailers have proven a bigger long-term challenge to the company than the Internet, CNBC reported.
Pizza chain expanding into 17 new states

Nearly half a century after entering the franchise business, Gatti’s Pizza has announced an aggressive expansion plan that will take it into 17 new states.
Houston Mall shutters all but outside stores

The 800,000-sq.-ft. Northwest Mall in Houston, a fixture in the northwest section of town since 1968, will close all interior stores on March 31. Tenants include Champs Sports, Factory Show Warehouse, Royal Tea Café, and the Flame & Sizzle Grill. Only stores with outdoor entrances will remain in business. These include Thompson Antique Center, Palais Royal, and The College of Healthcare Professionals.
More details on Amazon’s drive-up grocery store concept

Documents revealed what might be the next on Amazon’s physical retail drawing board. New permit documents revealed a sneak peek into what could be one of the online giant’s first drive-up grocery locations, according to GeekWire.
Report: Department store closings are overblown

Malls and shopping centers are not endangered, but evolving species, International Council of Shopping Centers CEO Thomas McGee told the Miami Herald this week. “There is stress in the department store segment and closures. When you look at those stores as a percentage of retail square footage, it’s small,” McGee said in a wide-ranging interview with the paper. “But those spaces are big and prominent and they need to be handled in a systematic way.”