REAL ESTATE

Retail Rap: Is the Apparel Industry Dressing Down?
In a column I wrote between Black Friday and Christmas last year, I talked about how “apparel sales have been languishing”, and I mentioned that the “industry buzz is all about the struggles in apparel, where retailers just can’t seem to discount clothing enough to get things to pick up.”
99 Cents Only opens nine new California stores
City of Commerce, Calif. – 99 Cents Only Stores is opening nine new stores in California between April 9 and April 11. The stores will be located in the communities of San Luis Obispo, Ontario, Sonora, Santee, Escondido, Tustin, San Bernardino, Cypress and South El Monte.

99 Cents Only currently operates 384 stores located in California, Texas, Arizona & Nevada.

Nordstrom Rack plans two new stores

Seattle – Nordstrom Inc. plans to open two new Nordstrom Rack stores in Pittsburgh and Novi, Michigan. The 40,000-sq.-ft. Pittsburgh store is scheduled to open in fall 2016 at The Block Northway mall.
Leslie’s Poolmart plans 41 new stores

Phoenix – Leslie’s Poolmart Inc. will open 15 new retail locations throughout the U.S. on Thursday, April 9. Cities with new stores will include Auburn, Bakersfield, Ceres, Palmdale; San Mateo and San Rafael, California; Rockledge, St. Augustine and Tallahassee, Florida; Gainesville, Georgia; Glenpool, Oklahoma; Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Hudson Oaks, Texas; Queen Creek, Arizona and Monroe, Louisiana.
Uniqlo continues USA expansion with plans to enter Seattle, Denver and D.C. areas

New York – Japanese retailer Uniqlo continues its U.S. expansion with plans open its first-ever stores in the Seattle, Denver and Washington, D.C., metro areas.

In the state of Washington, the retailer will open a 13,000-sq.-ft. location at Seattle’s The Bellevue Collection this fall. In spring/summer 2015, the retailer will open a 10,000-sq.-ft. store at Tyson's Corner Center, and a 22,000-sq.-ft. store on Denver's 16th Street, at The Denver Pavilions.
Report: San Francisco has lowest retail vacancy rate in the U.S.

New York -- Prospects for stellar rent growth and low vacancy helped make San Francisco the top-ranked city, followed by New York, in Marcus & Millichap’s 2015 National Retail Index, an annual real estate ranking of 46 major U.S. markets. Rounding out the top five: San Jose (#3); Austin (#4) and San Diego (#5).
Mid-America handles sale of Summit Crossing

Chicago -- Mid-America Real Estate Corporation’s Investment Sales team recently brokered the sale of Summit Crossing located in Crown Point, Indiana. The 11,859-sq.-ft. center was purchased by a California-based private investor for $3.2 million.

Summit Crossing is located at the southeast corner of Route 55 and East Summit Street in Crown Point, in the Chicago MSA. The 100% leased center features a tenant mix that includes ATI Physical Therapy, Advance Auto Parts, Supercuts and Starbucks.
West Marine to open Chicago flagship on April 23

Chicago -- West Marine will celebrate the grand opening of its Chicago flagship on Thursday, April 23, and continuing through Sunday, April 26.

At 20,000 sq. ft., the Halsted Street location will be the largest West Marine store in the Midwest. The new store will include such features as a state-of-the-art marine electronics display with over 100 units that shoppers can touch and test, and a dedicated "Paddle World" featuring a huge selection of kayaks and stand-up paddleboards, plus a broad range of paddling accessories.
Report: Japan government fund to help launch chain of green tea cafes in U.S.

Tokyo – The Cool Japan Fund, a fund mostly supported by Japanese taxpayers and linked to Japan’s government, will reportedly invest $2.18 million in a chain of U.S. green tea cafes. According to Reuters, the Cool Japan Fund will take a 49.9% stake in Green Tea World USA Inc.

Green Tea World plans to open its first tea café in California later in 2015. The company intends to open 50 stores in California cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose in the next decade. Beverages will sell for $3 to $4 each.
Dunkin’ Donuts to open seven new Illinois stores

Canton, Mass. – Dunkin’ Donuts has signed multi-unit store development agreements with two existing franchise groups to develop seven restaurants in Illinois during the next several years. The two franchise groups and their development plans include: