REAL ESTATE

North Plainfield, N.J. -- Levin Management announced a series of promotions and new hires to support continued growth and expansion in 2016.

“This is an exciting time for our company,” noted Matthew K. Harding, president for Levin. “We ended 2015 on a very positive note, and expect this momentum to continue throughout 2016. Our internal promotions and new staff additions ensure that we will consistently meet, and exceed, client expectations as we strengthen Levin’s presence in key markets throughout the Northeast.”

Oak Brook, Ill. -- Inland Real Estate Investment Corp. has been named a finalist of this year’s InformationWeek Elite 100, a list of the top business technology innovators in the U.S. Inland Investments has also been selected as a finalist for a Business Innovator award in the category of Cloud Services.

Photo: Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz at Milan’s Duomo Cathedral

Modern. Innovative. Interactive. Organized.

Those were among the words used most often by mystery shoppers to describe Amazon’s first ever retail storefront, Amazon Books. The report comes amid ongoing rumors that the Internet giant is planning to roll out additional stores.

One of the most exciting and rewarding things about being part of a tightly integrated national network of retail brokerages is the degree to which that network can serve as a resource unto itself. Fellow professionals from around the country and the world can engage in knowledge sharing about market-specific forces, industry observations and invaluable perspective about the changing face of the industry.

Chicago -- CBRE Group announced that Blake Johnson has joined CBRE Capital Markets as executive VP. Based in Chicago, Johnson will join the firm’s Institutional Properties team and will be responsible for office investment sales, with a concentrated focus on Chicago central business district (CBD) office transactions. Johnson will partner with Paul Lundstedt, Dan Deuter, Tom Sitz and Cody Hundertmark to expand the firm’s market share in the region.

Chattanooga, Tenn. -- CBL & Associates Properties announced it will be partnership with Girls World Expo. Girls World Expo is an organization that produces one-day events that bring young women together with positive female role models and programming meant to empower girls and help them realize their potential. In 2016, the expo will make stops at 10 CBL centers across the country.

Chicago -- CBRE announced that Sara Spicklemire has joined the firm as a SVP of its agency leasing team.