REAL ESTATE

Framingham, Mass. -- Staples is expanding its home and office automation platform, Staples Connect, including a rollout to 500 stores, new pricing for the Staples Connect Hub, and collaborations with Microsoft, Jawbone, and D-Link. Staples is also the first retailer to announce the integration of wearable technology to its platform.

El Paso, Texas – A 20,000-sq.-ft. retail center is planned to open in El Paso, Texas, this summer. The center will be constructed by EP Riverbend Development and real estate broker Will Brown on a mostly empty site occupied by a single liquor store, which will be torn down.

The center will be called The Substation and offer spaces as small as 800 sq. ft. for rental. Plans include outdoor spaces and seating and a closed pedestrian mall. Construction is set to begin in the fall.

Grand Rapids, Mich. -- Meijer on Monday broke ground on a supercenter in Detroit, on the site of a former high school on the city’s west side. The groundbreaking ceremony comes less than a year after Meijer opened a supercenter at the historical Michigan State Fairgrounds in the Motor City.

Pittsburgh - American Eagle Outfitters Inc. is entering the U.K. with the opening of three new company-owned stores. The stores will be located in the Bluewater mall in Kent, England, as well as the Westfield Group’s London and Stratford City shopping centers in London, England.

The stores opening in the Westfield centers will include an aerie presence in shop-in-shop form. All of the stores are expected to open during fall 2014.

Boston – Specialty men’s apparel retailer Blank Label opens its second store in the Downtown Crossing neighborhood of Boston on June 30. According to CNBC, Blank Label, which opened as an online-only retailer in 2009 and opened its first store in Boston in 2013, plans to open six more new physical stores on the East Coast by 2016.

In its PizzaRev case study series, CSA offers an insider’s look at the conception, initial rollout and growth of the southern California-based fast-casual concept PizzaRev. Likened to “the Chipotle of pizza,” this innovative chain lets customers choose from an artisanal array of toppings to craft their own pizzas very quickly in a high-end stone hearth oven.

Paterson, N.J. — Planet Fitness will open an 18,000-sq.-ft. facility at 100 Hamilton Plaza in Paterson, New Jersey, the facility will occupy the first-floor retail space in the 175,000-sq.-ft. downtown office tower.

Cushman & Wakefield’s East Rutherford, N.J., office represented the building’s owner, Mountain Development Corp. in the transaction. Ripco Real Estate represented the Planet Fitness franchisee, who operates several other regional locations.

Mission Viejo, Calif. — The Shops at Mission Viejo, a Simon Property Group property in Mission Viejo, California, has welcomed Kurt Webb as the new general manager. Webb began working with the center in mid-April and recently relocated to the region. He came on full time as of June 1.

Webb will be responsible for local leasing, tenant relations, building operations, security and marketing efforts. Additionally, he will act as a key liaison for various community and strategic organizations.