REAL ESTATE

Shopping Centers: Four Strategies for Giving Back
Just as the agora in Ancient Greece was the central meeting place where the community could come together to purchase goods from the market, connect with their friends and learn about the latest news, so too are today’s modern shopping centers a place that connects local residents. Today, by leveraging their structure and location, shopping centers can go one step further to affect positive change in their local communities and the nation at large by back to make local residents’ lives better.
Thirty-one stores and growing
Chicago -- Marbles: The Brain Store is in an expansion mode.

The retailer has opened a new store in Washington D.C., at National Harbor, the waterfront shopping and entertainment district on the Potomac River. It is Marbles’ second location in the Washington, D.C., area and its third to open this summer, with new stores debuting in Times Square in New York City and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, marking its first location in the southern region.

Sembler breaks ground on Florida shopping center

St. Petersburg, Fla. - The Sembler Co. recently broke ground on the 65,000-sq-ft Shoppes at Trinity Lakes, a Publix-anchored shopping center located in Trinity, Florida. In addition to the 45,600-sq-ft Publix and 1,400-sq-ft Publix Liquor Store, Sembler has signed leases with nearly 11,000 sq. ft. of retailers new to the Trinity market.
Academy Sports hits store count landmark, supports growth

Katy, Texas – Academy Sports + Outdoors is hitting a landmark in its store count.

The sporting goods chain will open its 200th store in Tupelo, Mississippi on July 3.

The Tupelo store will be approximately 63,000-sq.-ft. and will bring 100 new jobs to the area. This will be the first location in Tupelo and the fifth store in Mississippi.
Ross Dress for Less to open in Alton, Illinois

Dublin, Calif. -- Ross Dress for Less will open a new store in Alton, Illinois, on July 18.

The 24,000-sq.-ft. store is located in Alton Square Mall, 20 miles north of downtown St. Louis.
American Girl says ‘hola’ to Mexico

Middleton, Wis. - American Girl is expanding south of the boarder.

The brand will make its debut in Mexico, opening in-store boutiques in department store El Palacio de Hierro’s locations in Interlomas and Perisur. The in-store shops, ranging in size from 1,500 sq. ft. to 2,000 sq. ft., open July 4.

Mexico marks the second international retail presence for American Girl, which opened its first Canadian store in October 2013.
dd's Discounts ramps up growth in Florida

Dublin, Calif. -- dd’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, Inc., opened a new store in Tampa on June 27.

The 22,000-sq.-ft. store, located in University Plaza on the northwest corner of Fletcher Avenue and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, marks the retailer’s 26th store in Florida and secures the state as dd’s third-largest in terms of store counts.
dd's Discounts opens new Houston-area store

Dublin, Calif. -- dd’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, Inc., opened a new store in Eastex, Texas on June 27.

The 21,000-sq.-ft. store is located in the Eastex Shopping Center at Highway 59 and Little York Road.
The Lone Star Statement

It might seem counterintuitive to suggest that Houston, the nation’s fourth most populous city, is ever in danger of being overlooked, but the reality is that, for a long time, this rapidly growing Texas metropolis has frequently not been thought about in the same category as its peers. That is changing, however, and in many ways Houston has become that gateway market it has always longed to be. With the kind of population growth the city has been experiencing, population projections of 8 million - 9 million people in the not-too-distant future do not seem too far-fetched.
Ross Dress for Less expands western U.S. store counts

Dublin, Calif. -- Ross Dress for Less will open a new store in Montrose, Colorado, on July 18, as well as a new store in Phoenix on the same day, adding to its western U.S. store counts.

The 27,000-sq.-ft. Montrose, Colorado, store is located in the River Landing shopping center at US Highway 550 and Rio Grande Avenue, 60 miles southeast of Grand Junction.