REAL ESTATE

Apparel giant in store closing move amid sales drop
Ascena Retail Group, operators of such brands as Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant and Dressbarn, is planning to close hundreds of stores. The news came on the heels of a brutal third quarter. The company reported a net loss of $1.031 billion, or $5.29 per diluted share in the third quarter ended April 29, compared to net income of $15 million last year, or $0.08 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.
Digital directory keeps Mall of America traffic moving
Traffic is good at the Mall of America. Arguably Minnesota’s biggest tourist attraction, the 5.5 million-sq.-ft. theme-park-cum-shopping center packs in some 40 million visitors a year. The big challenge for owner Triple Five is how to keep that traffic moving, experiencing, and spending instead of seeking out directions.

Warehouse club operator entering new territory

BJ's Wholesale Club is set to open its first location in South Carolina. The retailer will celebrate the grand opening of its new location in Summerville, South Carolina on Saturday, June 10. The store, which marks BJ's expansion into South Carolina, is located at the intersection of Interstate 26 and North Main Street, Summerville's primary retail corridor.
Making the move from the regional mall to the urban lifestyle center
Macy’s mulls rooftop park atop New York City flagship

Macy’s is toying with a lofty idea that could create more traffic at its Herald Square store in New York City.
$30 million redevelopment for CambridgeSide

In reaction to changes that have transpired in the adjoining East Cambridge and Kendall Square neighborhoods since it debuted in 1990, CambridgeSide Galleria outside of Boston is undergoing a $30 million makeover. Owner New England Development calls it a “repositioning” that will see the “Galleria” tag dropped from the title of the center, one of the first regional enclosed malls erected in an urban setting. It is the centerpiece of a 1.2-million-sq.-ft. mixed-use project that includes office space and a hotel.
OKC Outlets names new general manager

Mall management veteran Jeannette Smith has been named general manager of OKC Outlets, which changed hands last month. CBL sold the former Outlet Shoppes at Oklahoma City to The Outlet Resource Group and Singerman Real Estate in May for $38 million. The new owners changed the center’s name to OKC Outlets in a RECon show ceremony presided over by Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett.
Grocery drives new developments in Chicagoland

New shopping center development in the Chicago metropolitan area will barely top 1 million sq. ft. in 2017, a nearly 50% plunge from just two years ago, according to Mid-America Real Estate Corporation. “While new construction is not as robust as previous years, adaptive reuse of existing retail space continues to offer an opportunity for expanding retailers,” said Andy Bulson, the company’s director of suburban tenant representation. Where new GLA does appear, reveal
Massachusetts trailer park to make way for shopping center

The vacated Whispering Pines Mobile Home Park in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, will be filled with retail by a local developer building centers large and small along the Rhode Island border. The still nameless project makes the fifth center that Johnston, Rhode Island-based Carpionato Group has under development in the area. They range in size from 53,000 sq. ft. of GLA at the Shoppes at Mayfaire in Attleboro to 830,000 sq. ft. at the Stonehill Marketplace power center in Johnston.
Meijer plans for first small-format grocery store

Meijer plans to open its smallest urban store yet — but with a twist. The Grand Rapids, Michigan-based grocer’s newest store will be nearly 30,000 sq. ft., but it won’t feature the Meijer moniker. Instead, the store will go by the name, Bridge Street Market. Construction begins in July, and is expected to be open for business in the early fall of 2018.