REAL ESTATE

By Mike Kercheval, International Council of Shopping Centers

As tens of thousands of retail real estate industry members head to Las Vegas for ICSC’s annual RECon event, I find myself reflecting on the evolution of the industry and the fundamental changes that will affect the shopping center business over the next five years.

Gainesville, Fla. - Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE:RGC) will open a 10-screen reserved-seating luxury theater at Celebration Pointe, a 225-acre, mixed-use regional development located in Gainesville, Florida. Celebration Pointe partner Ralph Conti made the announcement.

Duluth, Ga. - Atlanta-based Fuqua Development, along with The Worthing Companies has broken ground on Sugarloaf Market, a 31-acre, mixed-use project located in Duluth, Georgia. Anchored by the organic grocery store Sprouts Farmers Market, Sugarloaf Market will include 75,000-sq.-ft. of retail and 330 luxury apartments.  

Fuqua Development is the master developer for the project and is developing the commercial component of the project, while The Worthing Companies is developing the residential component.

Indianapolis – Simon plans to expand several marquee properties in the U.S., investing approximately $1 billion annually to enhance its assets. The Mills at Jersey Gardens in Elizabeth, New Jersey, will submit plans for a major expansion, adding approximately 411,000-sq.-ft. of new outlet brands, dining and entertainment to its footprint of more than 200 stores and 1.3 million-sq.-ft.

New York – Fast-fashion retailer H&M estimates that it will continue to expand annually at a rate of 10% to 15%, which would take the U.S. store count to more than 400 and the total store count to almost 4,000 stores by the end of the year.

During 2015, the Swedish retailer has thus far announced it will open 61 stores, including the Herald Square flagship in New York City, which will become the largest H&M in the world when it opens on May 20.

Las Vegas -- Simon Property Group, a global leader in retail real estate, announced that it has opened a 25-store expansion of Las Vegas North Premium Outlets.

The center is now one of the largest in the country with 175 stores. The expansion features designer and name brands, including Neiman Marcus Last Call Studio, Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th, AG Adriano Goldschmied, AllSaints, Bally, Canali, Catimini, CH Carolina Herrera, Citizen, Helmut Lang, John Varvatos, Rag & Bone, Under Armour, and Vera Bradley.

Philadelphia - Five Below will make its initial entry into the Kansas City, Missouri market with the opening of three stores on May 15. The tween and teen specialty retailer expects to open a total of 70 new stores during 2015, on top of opening 62 stores in 2014

The three approximately 7,500-sq.-ft. Five Below Kansas City stores are located in Tiffany Springs Market Center in Kansas City, Adam's Dairy Landing in Blue Springs, Missouri, and Olathe Pointe Shopping Center in Olathe, Kansas.

Jackson, Miss. – As part of a larger plan to open 30 new corporate and franchised stores by the end of 2015 and 200 new stores by 2018, Newk's Eatery has entered a new development agreement with New Orleans-based Southeast Restaurant Group (SRG). The veteran operator of franchise and independent restaurants plans to open 15 Newk's locations throughout Southern Louisiana and in Houston.