REAL ESTATE

Now Showing: Stores in classic L.A. movie palaces
Los Angeles’s Broadway Theater District was the first such entertainment strip to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Is the famed alley of theater palaces now poised to make retail history?
RKF taps Cesar to strengthen ties with Latin America
Alex Cesar, who had been running JLL’s retail department in Brazil, has been hired by RKF to head up its Miami office. “Alex will be a crucial driver of our expansion in South Florida and will strengthen the bridge between the Latin American and U.S. retail markets,” said RKF CEO Robert Futterman in announcing the move.

Caruso taps Middlebrook to lead new innovation division

Photo: Matt Middlebrook Heralding it as first for real estate development companies, Caruso Affiliated CEO Rick Caruso announced the formation of a Strategic Development and Innovations division focused on helping retailers harness new technologies serve a complex and fluid customer base.
This big-box retailer is still expanding

PGA Tour Superstore is growing its retail presence even as many other big-box stores downsize. The chain will open a 45,500-sq.ft. store at Woodlands Shopping Center, Houston, in a former Sports Authority location, this fall. It’s the first Houston location for the company, whose controlling owner is Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot.
C-store chain expanding

Sheetz is opening four stores in four different states. The family-owned convenience store chain announced four new locations: Morgantown, West Virginia; Morrisville, North Carolina; St. Clairsville, Ohio; and Bethel, Pennsylvania. All will open by July, 7.
Macy’s May See Changes

Macy’s may be flailing, but the department store icon can’t be accused of taking its struggles lying down. As sales were falling 7.4% in the first quarter of 2016 (numbers that represented the fifth straight quarter of declining sales, and capped off a year in which Macy’s stock prices were nearly halved at 47%), Macy’s continues moving forward on plans to roll out its new off-price Backstage concept – both as a series of new stand-alone stores and as in-store locations integrated inside a number of existing Macy’s stores.
Westfield World Trade Center recruits veterans

A job fair held in New York this week attracted veterans and their family members looking to fill retail positions at the Westfield World Trade Center mall set to open in August. Some 5,000 attended to apply for some 10,000 positions expected to open there and at Fulton Center in the two months.
Wisconsin planning board overturns mall policy in Jo-Ann’s favor

Racine, Wisconsin’s planning commission has overturned the local Regency Mall’s policy to suit the signage requirements of new retailers there, according to a report in The Journal Times. When J.C. Penney closed its doors at the CBL & Associates-owned mall, the vacant space was favorably distributed among three new tenants. All three, however, had issues with the space allotment for their signs.
Cereal giant opening cafe in heart of Manhattan

Kellogg’s is in a New York state of mind. Times Square to be more specific. On July 4, Kellogg's will open Kellogg's NYC, its first-ever permanent café, at 1600 Broadway.
Shopping centers are the calm in a global financial storm, analyst says

The demise of the American mall is greatly exaggerated, held Sandler O’Neill analyst Alexander Goldfarb during a discussion of Brexit on CNBC. “Dead mall stories are great, but when it comes time to drive earnings cash flow in stocks, that’s where those big powerhouse malls show through,” Goldfarb said. “For the global investor looking for safety and security, [it’s] U.S. real estate.”