REAL ESTATE

Sears Canada leases spark interest among REITs
Two heavy hitters in the Canadian real estate market are eyeing Sears Canada properties — but not its Home Stores. RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, and a unit of H&R Real Estate Investment Trust are among potential bidders interested in Sears Canada assets. They are two of the biggest players in the Canadian real estate marketplace, according to Bloomberg.
Marshalls expands in Maryland
A new Marshalls location will co-anchor the Shoppes at Apple Greene in Dunkirk, Maryland, along with Harris Teeter, according to center owners Echo Realty and Marrick Partners. The 21,000-sq.-ft. location will be Marshalls’ first in Calvert County, due south of Baltimore, where Marshalls operates two stores. The 48,000-sq.-ft. Harris Teeter store is under construction at Apple Greene, a new 100,000-sq.-ft. center with an additional 30,000 sq. ft. available for lease.

Inland notches another Texas center

One of the most active acquirers in the retail real estate business has made its 292nd purchase in the great State of Texas. Inland Real Estate Acquisitions announced the purchase of Denton Village in the town of the same name, situated 40 miles north of Dallas. The North Dallas region has been a hotbed of job growth, housing starts, and new retail development.
Brand standards for a brave new retail world

Formula. Format. Familiarity. The retail recipe is tried and true, based on brand dress and standards developed over years and, often, decades. Standards meticulously define everything from the logo to the physical layout of stores. Storefronts, where the visual expression of the brand identity is most evident and most essential, is especially prescriptive. A Barnes & Noble in Miami looks the same as a Barnes & Noble in Minneapolis.
PREIT’s version of ‘That’s Entertainment’

Dining and entertainment square footage continues to replace that of department stores in PREIT’s mall portfolio. Last week the Philadelphia-based developer announced that it had signed leases to fill vacated Sears space at two of its properties. Five Below and an unnamed off-price furniture retailer will join Burlington in the former Sears at the Magnolia Mall in Florence, South Carolina.
Phillips Edison acquires Ralph’s-anchored center

Chain Store Age’s “Fastest-Growing Acquirer” for 2016 continues to be hard at it in 2017. Phillips Edison has purchased Sierra Del Oro Towne Center in Corona, California, about midway between Los Angeles and Palm Springs, for $28.6 million, it was announced this week.
New tenant specialist joins Mid-America

Retail tenant specialist Jack Gray has joined Mid-America Real Estate’s Minnesota operation. He will be representing clients that include Starbucks, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Mills Fleet Farm. Gray arrives at Mid-America from an internship on Cushman & Wakefield Northmarq’s industrial brokerage team. Gray is a recent graduate of University of St. Thomas, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in marketing.
Off-pricer remains bullish on store expansion

Ross Stores continues to build out its store footprint at an aggressive pace. The off-price retailer opened 21 Ross Dress for Less stores and seven dd's Discounts locations across 15 different states in June and July. The openings are part of the company's plans to add approximately 70 Ross and 20 dd's locations in 2017.
America’s No. 1 retail experience: Mall of America

When Chain Store Age embarked on a search for the Top 10 Retail Experiences in the nation, it was hard for us to look past a 5-million-sq.-ft. mall in Minnesota with a roller coaster and a comedy club, as well as an Apple Store and a Hard Rock Café. It should come as little surprise, then, to see Mall of America occupying the No. 1 spot in our Top 10 countdown that culminates today.
West Virginia power center changes hands

The Marketplace at Potomoc Towne Center in Ranson, West Virginia, has been acquired for $35.9 million by Heidenberg Properties Group and Strategic Real Estate Partners (SERP) in a joint venture deal. The seller was Carl Freeman Companies of Rockville, Maryland.