REAL ESTATE

Seattle – Starbucks will open its first Teavana tea bar in as the company continues to push beyond its core coffee foundation. Teavana Fine Teas + Tea Bar will open on the Upper East Side of Manhattan on Oct. 24, offering snacks and light foods, loose-leaf teas tea blends and novelty beverages, along with  and related merchandise.  

The store is accented with light woods, comfy seating and low lighting. It has no Starbucks branding.

St. Louis -- Build-A-Bear Workshop plans an in-store shop in the FAO Schwarz  Fifth Avenue flagship in Manhattan. Opening in early November, the location is the first Build-A-Bear Workshop store-within-a-store in the United States. (FAO Schwarz is owned by Toys “R” Us.)

I’d like to try something a bit different for this week’s column: a market-specific conversation! I’ve tapped Dave Cheatham from Phoenix-based Velocity Retail Group, an X Team International Partner, to help me examine the recent ups and downs of the local retail market in Arizona — and what the lessons learned here mean for brick and mortar retailers nationwide.

Richmond, Va. — Divaris Real Estate has announced the renewal of a 26,537-sq.-ft. Big Lots lease in the Midlothian Crossing Shopping Center in Richmond, Va.

DRE manages and leases the center for landlord Midlothian Associates. Other tenants include Goodwill, Family Dollar and Red Wing Shoes.

Glendale, Calif. — Glendale Galleria has announced the addition of more than 30 new and expanded stores to its merchandise mix. Most of the new store openings coincide with the mall’s expansive renovation, which updates aesthetics inside and outside of the center. The renovations should finish up by early November in time for the new retailer openings and the holiday shopping season.

Dallas — Cypress Equities has acquired Eden Prairie Center in Eden Prairie, Minn., an upscale suburb of Minneapolis. The transaction was carried out by a fund managed by Cypress’ real estate investment management group. Eden Prairie Center is a 1.1-million-sq.-ft., two-level, enclosed shopping center. The mall features more than 100 shops and restaurants. Annual shopper visits exceed 12 million.

Dubuque, Iowa — Mid-America Real Estate Corp.’s Investment Sales team recently brokered the sale of a large portion of the 136,398-sq.-ft. Asbury Plaza in Dubuque, Iowa. The Cafaro organization made the acquisition for $12 million.

The community shopping center is about two miles from Cafaro’s 700,000-sq.-ft. Kennedy Mall.

The community shopping center features national anchor retailers including Michaels, Bed Bath & Beyond and Petco. Shadow anchors include Hy-Vee Grocery Store, Kohl’s and AMC Theater.

Canton, Mass. – Dunkin’ Donuts is increasing its focus on opening stores in college campuses and other non-traditional locations. The list of universities that have recently opened new Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in 2013 or plan to open new locations by January 2014 includes Westfield University (second location), Norwich University, Merrimack College, University of Rhode Island (opening two locations), University of Alabama Huntsville, Brandeis University, and Wayne State University.