TENANT UPDATE

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.   

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.   

More than 50,000 sq. ft. of new shopping opportunities will soon be presented to shoppers at Ohio’s most popular retail destination.   Easton Town Center, which draws 21 million customer visits a year and houses more than 200 shopping and dining options is constantly in the process of re-curating its mix, and eight new tenants will open at the Columbus venue this year.  

The Southeast’s leading grocery chain will be opening a new center in the state where it has its least exposure, and leasing activity is brisk.   Broker La Purser & Associates reported the signing of four tenants at a planned Publix-anchored center in Harrisburg, North Carolina. Smoothie King, Sports Clips, Avalon Spa & Nails, and dental office have committed to the 67,200-sq.-ft. Harris Square, set to open in 2018.  

“Retail that can be replaced by the Internet is suffering. We’re trying to give an experience with great architecture, places to hang out and good people,” Regency Centers’ John Mehigan told the Orange County Register last week. That means food and beverage concepts, and lots of them.  

When Simon opened the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace in 1992, the Las Vegas Strip was still a place where one could find $2 blackjack tables and $1.99 steak dinners. Simon Properties took a chance, brought luxury retail to the Strip, and helped pioneer full-price retail on the famed boulevard.  

The story of the reinvention of a mall into a multi-use development got more colorful this week.   Crayola Experience announced it will place its fourth U.S. location in The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano, Texas, a Starwood mall that is adding a seven-story office tower, an expanded dining district, and the North Texas Performing Arts Center in a top-to-bottom transformation.   

Discount Drug Mart will take over a long-vacant anchor space here at a former Giant Eagle location at The Shoppes of Oakwood Square, something that may give a big boost to the shopping center, reported Columbus Parent. DDM signed a 15-year lease to occupy about 30,000 sq.-ft. of space, the news outlet added.