REAL ESTATE

New York - Brixmor Property Group, owner and operator of the largest wholly-owned portfolio of grocery-anchored shopping centers in the U.S., has named Christopher Ralph as VP leasing and will be based in Orlando, Florida. In this role, Ralph will oversee the leasing at Brixmor’s 58 community and neighborhood centers in Florida, which collectively total nine million-sq.-ft..

York, Pa. -- The Bon-Ton Stores  announced it will close its Bon-Ton store in the Clearview Mall in Butler, Pennsylvania, and its Elder-Beerman store in the Raleigh Mall in Beckley, West Virginia.

The company will not renew these leases, which terminate January 31, 2015. The stores will close at the end of the leases.

Howell, N.J. -- Norman’s Hallmark, a family-owned and operated card and specialty gift retailer, has signed a lease to occupy 5,200 sq. ft. at Aldrich Plaza, Howell, New Jersey, announced Levin Management, exclusive leasing and managing agent for the 150,000-square-foot shopping center.
 
Gloria Mercado, Levin’s leasing representative, negotiated the long-term lease.
 

New York – Ann Inc. is opening its first Loft store in Mexico, continuing the company's international expansion. The store is located in the Antea Lifestyle Center in Queretaro, with additional locations planned for later this year in Mexico City's Parque Toreo Mall and Puebla's Angelopolis Mall.

Ann Inc. is working with its franchise partner Grupo Axo to establish its retail presence in Mexico.

Frankfort, Ill. – Mid-America Real Estate Corporation’s Investment Sales team recently brokered the sale of Prairie Crossings Shopping Center in Frankfort, Illinois. The 109,079-square-foot center was purchased by Oak Brook, Illinois.-based Inland Real Estate Corporation for $24.66 million.

Dallas -- Cypress Equities companies announced that Cypress Lake Pleasant, LP, a new affiliated partnership, has purchased the fee simple interest in the Lake Pleasant Crossing shopping center in Peoria, Arizona.

Cypress previously held a ground lease interest in the property, having developed the existing shopping center and Lowe’s Home Improvement Center on the site. With the purchase, Cypress is in the process of making several upgrades to the existing center as well as planning for the second phase of development.

Salt Lake City - Spring Mobile, a retailer of AT&T wireless phones and a wholly-owned subsidiary of GameStop Corp., has acquired 53 retail store locations from Product Center. With the addition of the new locations, Spring Mobile now operates 298 stores in 26 states.

New York -- Uniqlo celebrate the opening of its store at Roosevelt Field, Garden City, New York, on Oct. 3.

The Roosevelt Field store is the retailer’s ninth store in the state of New York, and its 32nd in the United States.

Uniqlo currently more than 1,400 stores in 16 markets worldwide. The company is a brand of Japan’s Fast Retailing Co, whose brands also include Comptoir des Cotonniers, GU, Helmut Lang, J Brand, Princesse tam.tam, Theory.