REAL ESTATE

Seattle -- In collaboration with Disney, Starbucks Corp. has opened its first company-operated store at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, a nearly 4,000-sq.-ft. location at Downtown Disney West Side. This past March, Disney opened its first company-operated café at Downtown Disney, Anaheim, California. 

Freeport, Maine -- L.L. Bean announced it will open its first store in the state of Vermont, at Burlington Town Center.

The two-level, 18,290-sq.-ft. store is scheduled to open in October. It will feature an assortment of active and casual apparel and footwear, outdoor gear including hiking, fly-fishing, kayaking and camping products. It will L.L. Bean's 20th retail store outside of Maine.

Washington, D.C. — The Fairfax, Virginia, City Council has approved a rezoning application for Combined Properties’ Fairfax Circle Plaza. The project aims to redevelop the current strip retail center and replace it with a mixed-use development with up to 400 new apartments and 88,000 sq. ft. of retail including a grocery store.

The project is located at the intersection of two major routes just over a half mile from the Vienna, Virginia, Metro station.

New York — Faith Hope Consolo, chairman, and Joseph Aquino, executive VP of Douglas Elliman’s Retail Group, has leased a multi-level space at 45 East 58th Street in the Plaza District in Manhattan, to Caruso, the exclusive Italian menswear label.

The new location will be Caruso’s first in the United States. It will be the brand’s New York flagship and showroom.

Formerly the Spanierman Gallery, the unusually large space encompasses more than 11,000 sq. ft. on two levels.

Bronx, N.Y. — Triangle Equities has reached several milestones in the development of the $35 million, 88,000-sq.-ft. Triangle Plaza Hub at 149th Street in Bronx, New York. The development aims to help revitalize a generally underserved area with a mixed-use commercial and community facility located at a transit center that serves 200,000 people daily. Vista Optical has also leased space.

To date, Triangle’s accomplishments include signing two key anchor tenants: Fine Far supermarket and Metropolitan College of New York.

Los Angeles -- Another online retailer is taking the brick-and-mortar plunge. California lifestyle brand Gypsy05 announced it will open its first two retail locations at the end of this month. After nearly 10 years of business, the brand has decided to open branded Gypsy05 retail stores, in Beverly Hills, and in the Malibu Country Mart in Malibu, California. The brand is set to open a third location, in Orange County, California, later this year, but real estate negotiations have not been completed.

Fort Worth, Texas – Trademark Property Co. has named Steven W. Toppel to the post of executive VP. Toppel will begin his new role June 3.
 
With more than 28 years of experience in commercial real estate, Toppel will oversee leasing for Trademark’s portfolio of lifestyle centers, malls, and mixed-use developments.