REAL ESTATE

Tejon Ranch, Calif. — Slated to open in August, The Outlets at Tejon has announced the appointment of Brian P. Hassett as the new center’s general manager. Hassett brings more than 25 years of experience in the retail industry — more than 10 of them focused on outlet retail — to the post.

New York — Winick Realty Group has announced two lease transactions that will relocate two long-time tenants in Manhattan’s Garment Center.

Twenty-year-old Chinese contemporary sportswear designer Jsong International signed a lease for 1,900 sq. ft. at 149B West 36th Street, between Broadway and Seventh Avenue. The brand, which had previously operated a showroom at nearby 499 Broadway, moved to introduce a retail component to its business.

Las Vegas -- 1960s-era The Boulevard Mall will receive a $25 million makeover in hopes of prompting an overall redevelopment of the Maryland Parkway corridor of Las Vegas.

The rehab, to be launched by owner Sansone Cos., which acquired the mall last December for $54.5 million, will be the property’s first major renovation in more than two decades. Sansone is looking at the renovation of the Boulevard as a catalyst in the overall redevelopment effort of the Maryland Parkway corridor.

Philadelphia – A new $500 million retail/residential development is reportedly planned for downtown Philadelphia. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, a block of stores located on Market Street between 11th and 12th Street in Philadelphia will be razed or moved to make way for a new complex that will be known as East Market.

North Plainfield, N.J. — Roy D. Vice has joined Levin Management as VP of construction and development. In his new role, Vice will work closely with Levin’s property management and leasing teams to oversee all construction and development activities in the firm’s retail portfolio of more than 13 million square feet.

New York — Choza Taqueria, a Manhattan-based Mexican restaurant, has signed a lease for its third location at 100 Park Avenue, between 40th and 41st Streets. The new location will reach a lunchtime crowd from the area’s many Class A offices and the business commuters and visitors passing through Grand Central Station.

Winick Realty Group represented Choza, which currently operates storefronts on Madison Avenue and 27th Street and Macdougal Street and Bleecker Street.

Katy, Texas -- Sporting goods retailer Academy Sports + Outdoors will continue its Midwestern expansion push with plans to open four new stores across Indiana and Kentucky later this fall.
 
The first two locations — Evansville, Ind., and Owensboro, Ky. — will mark Academy's entry into both states followed by the opening of stores in Louisville and Middletown, Ky., prior to the holidays.

By Dustin Watson, partner and director of sustainability, DDG

Place-making has become perhaps the essential element in creating value in today’s competitive retail environment.