REAL ESTATE

REI to expand footprint in two states
Specialty outdoor retailer REI is on the move.

The company has two new stores in the works, one in Rochester, New York, and the other in Winter Park, Florida.

Expected to open in fall 2016, REI Rochester will be located at CityGate, which is in the heart of the city's university and hospital district. With the Finger Lakes and several ski resorts nearby, the 27,000-sq.-ft. store will carry gear and apparel for snow and water sports.
What General Growth’s CEO really said about Amazon’s expansion plans
A passing reference at the end of a conference call about Amazon.com’s possible plans for physical stores by General Growth Properties' CEO has taken on a life of its own with speculation raging that the online retailer will soon open 400 stores.

Inland names executive VP and head of property management

Oak Brook, Ill. -- Inland Investment Real Estate Services hires Niall J. Byrne as executive VP and head of property management. Byrne will be responsible for IIRES’s property management for Inland Investments, Inland National Development Corporation and Inland Institutional Capital Partners.
Publix looks north as it enters its seventh state

Publix Super Markets has signed leases to open its first-ever stores in the state of Virginia.
TV’s long-running cartoon family to get their very own branded stores

Springfield may be home to the “The Simpsons.” But it won’t be home to the first-ever retail store dedicated to the long-running (27 years) television cartoon series.

20th Century Fox has announced that the world's first Simpsons store will open in Beijing, China, in March, followed by a second location, in Shanghai, by June.
dd’s Discounts up store count in Texas, Arizona

dd’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, Inc. will open a 20,000-sq.-ft. store at Parkshire Center in Wilcrest, Texas on Feb. 6. The location is 14 miles southwest of downtown Houston, at the intersection of Highway 59 and Wilcrest Drive.

The new store ups dd’s store count in Texas to 37 locations, making it the retailer’s second largest state. With the new opening, the chain will operate 175 locations in 15 states.
Westwood Financial acquires seventh southeast property

Pensacola, Fla. -- Westwood Financial Corp. announced it has acquired the Shoppes at Milestone, a fully-leased shopping center located in Pensacola, Florida. The 19,700-sq.-ft. shopping center is shadow anchored by Publix and is the firm’s seventh Florida property.
Coach to go big on Fifth Avenue

Coach will celebrate its 75th anniversary with the opening of a three-level flagship on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan,

The store, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 54th Street, is due to open in the fall.
Publix-anchored retail center in suburban Atlanta trades for $13 million

Woodstock, Ga. -- Transwestern’s Southeast Investment Services Group announced it brokered the disposition of East Cherokee Village Shoppes for $13 million. New Orleans-based PMAT Cos. acquired the 128,667-sq. ft., Publix-anchored shopping center is located in Woodstock, Georgia. Transwestern VP Fred Victor and managing director Kevin Markwordt represented the private seller.
SRS Real Estate Partners hires senior VP to Houston Office

Houston -- SRS Real Estate Partners welcomes Jonathan Hicks as SVP and co-market leader in the Houston office. Hicks will lead the Houston office alongside team member, Cody Persyn.

"The addition of Jonathan to our Houston office complements our existing business immensely," said Woody McMinn, president of North American brokerage. "Cody's depth and tenure at SRS, and around the country, joined with Jonathan's market contacts and local industry involvement, are going to make a great market leader team."