REAL ESTATE

Chicago — Cole Real Estate has purchased Darien Towne Centre in Darien, Ill., for $22.25 million, according to Transwestern’s Chicago office, which brokered the transaction on behalf of the seller, RPAI.

Cole has the ability to expand the 177,002-sq.-ft. center, which was developed in 1994, by up to 12,000 sq. ft.

Home Depot anchors Darien Towne Center, and a Wal-Mart Supercenter shadow-anchors. National tenants include PetSmart, O’Reilly Automotive, TGI Friday’s, Great Clips, Jenny Craig and Sally Beauty Supply.

Rockville, Md. — Federal Realty Investment Trust has acquired controlling interests in two shopping centers in Affluent Monmouth County, N.J., for $161 million. Both the Grove at Shrewsbury and Brook 35 are located on Route 35 and serve the emerging bedroom and second home communities of Shrewsbury, Red Bank, Rumson, Fair Haven, Little Silver, and Middletown. The acquisition was made with a combination of downREIT units, cash and the assumption of $68 million of fixed rate debt secured by the properties.

New York -- Uniqlo will continue its expansion in the United States by opening five stores this spring/summer, including its first-ever location in the greater Philadelphia metropolitan area.
 
The five new Uniqlo stores scheduled to open in spring/summer are:

Seattle -- Nordstrom announced today plans to open a Nordstrom Rack at The Shops at SkyView Center in Queens, N.Y., and another at Lake Brandson Plaza, Brandon, Fla. Both stores are scheduled to open in fall 2014.

Nordstrom Rack is set to open its first Brooklyn, N.Y., location on Fulton Street in spring 2014 followed by a second location at the Gateway Center in Brooklyn, in the fall. When it opens, The Shops at SkyView Center Nordstrom Rack will be the company's first Queens location.

Minneapolis -- The Tile Shop, a specialty retailer of high quality, premium manufactured and natural stone tiles, has opened its first retail locations in Connecticut, 15,120-sq.-ft. location in Brookfield, and a 20,740-sq.-ft. location in Norwalk.

Oak Brook, Ill. — Inland Real Estate Income Trust has acquired the 159,258-sq.-ft. Wedgewood Commons Shopping Center in Olive Branch, Miss., a southeastern suburb of Memphis, Tenn. The purchase price was $33.9 million.

The property consists of four buildings and an existing structure suitable for the development of an additional 10,838 sq. ft. of leasable space, which would increase the center’s retail space to just over 170,000 sq. ft.

Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. — Cole Real Estate Investments has acquired The Shoppes on South Main in Bowling Green, Ohio, according to Mid-America Real Estate Corp.’s (www.midamericagrp.com) investment sales team, the firm that brokered the transaction on behalf of the seller, Chase Properties.

The 110,769-sq.-ft. shopping center features anchor tenants T.J. Maxx, Staples, Petco and Dollar General. Home Depot and a Wal-Mart Supercenter shadow anchor the center.

North Plainfield, N.J. — Salon 724 has leased 2,300 sq. ft. at Centre Plaza in Bensalem, Pa., according to Levin Management (www.levinmgt.com), the center’s exclusive leasing and managing agent.

Tenants at the 43,550-sq.-ft. Centre Plaza include Curves for Women, Domino’s Pizza, LabCorp, MGM Financial Strategies Inc., First Federal Savings & Loan, A&S Bagels and Tako Japanese Restaurant.