Gulf Related, a joint venture between Related Co. and Gulf Capital, in partnership with Mubadala Real Estate & Hospitality, will develop The Galleria at Sowwah Square in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The project will be located within the 2-million-square-foot Sowwah Square commercial development. It will feature approximately 355,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. The Galleria at Sowwah Square is scheduled for completion in late 2012. It will be the inaugural project for Gulf Related, which was formed in 2009.
Gulf Related’s partner on the development, Mubadala Real Estate & Hospitality was established and is managed by the government of Abu Dhabi.
“’The Galleria at Sowwah Square’ offers Abu Dhabi’s most compelling opportunity to create a distinct shopping and dining destination on the waterfront as part of a dynamic mixed-use environment that will include world-class hotel flags, class-A office space unparalleled in the region and Abu Dhabi’s new Securities Exchange,” said Kenneth A. Himmel, co-managing partner of Gulf Related and president and CEO of Related Urban, in a statement. “Related Companies has created some of the most recognizable and celebrated mixed-use developments in the United States. We are excited to bring our expertise to Abu Dhabi through our partnership with Mubadala, leverage our strong European and U.S. retail, restaurant and entertainment relationships, and to be a part of such a prestigious and promising development.”
Affiliates of World Premier Investments and United American Properties appointed NewMark Merrill Cos. as property manager for four retail centers totaling approximately 1.17 million square feet. The properties include the following:
Simon Property Group Inc. will assume leasing, management and marketing responsibilities for the 758,000-square-foot The Shops at Montebello regional mall in Rosemead, Calif. Tenants at the center include Macy’s, J.C. Penney and Forever 21, among others. The assignment will commence on February 1st.
CBL & Associates Properties Inc. will renovate four malls in 2011. The properties slated for redevelopment include Burnsville Center in Burnsville, Minn.; Hamilton Place Mall in Chattanooga, Tenn.; Oak Park Mall in Overland Park, Kan.; and RiverGate Mall in Goodlettsville, Tenn.
Hamilton Place Mall and Oak Park Mall will receive the most extensive upgrades, including updated entrances, new interior decors, new restrooms and tile flooring and modern graphic packages. Both malls will have redesigned food courts and Oak Park Mall will also get new mall signage, new landscaping, parking lot resurfacing and parking lot lighting.
At RiverGate Mall, the renovation will include new flooring and new paint, as well as new décor. Burnsville Center will get new flooring.
All four projects are scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
Englewood Construction has four new retail projects in the pipeline, including five stores in the Midwest and one in the Mid-Atlantic region. The Midwest projects include the interior build-out for a 14,801-square-foot Trader Joe’s in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood; a 6,920-square-foot Advance Auto Parts in Glen Ellyn, Ill. a 3,760-square-foot Destination Maternity at Orland Park Place Mall in Orland Park, Ill. and a 2,000-square-foot Motherhood Maternity at Lincoln Place Shopping Center near St. Louis, Mi. The final project involves the interior build-out for a 20,000-square-foot American Girl store at Tyson’s Corner mall in McLean, Va.
Inserra Supermarkets will redevelop a 7.-6-acre site in Wyckoff, N.J. into a 62,174-square-foot ShopRite store. The site currently houses a 53,000-square-foot building that has been vacant for more than 10 years. Inserra has already secured architectural plan approval from the Wyckoff Design Review Board. The project is currently being reviewed by the New Jersey State Department of Environmental Protection.
Streetsense, an integrated brokerage, design, development and marketing firm specializing in retail and real estate, merged with Green Light Retail Real Estate Services, a retail brokerage. The Bethesda, Md.-based firm will now be recognized under the Streetsense flag. Green Light’s list of retail clients includes Macy’s, Sears and La Madeleine, among others.
Emagine Theatres signed a deal with Centro Properties Group for a 47,884-square-foot movie theater at Hampton Village Centre in Rochester Hills, Mich. The theater is already operating. Alex Bieri, of The Bieri Co. , and Brooke Wolf, of LaKritz Weber, represented the tenant in the transaction. Justine O’Brien served as in-house representative for Centro.
The Gym signed a lease with Centro for a 10,000-square-foot facility at Lakewood Shopping Plaza in Lakewood, N.J. Ron Ruth served as in-house representative for Centro in the transaction.
In addition, Centro signed leases totaling 9,432 square feet at centers throughout its U.S. portfolio with tenants including Gold Coast Hair Salon, Super Antojitos, Way to Go Sports, Somersworth Nails and Terry’s Barber Shop.
H&M signed a 10-year lease with Thomas Enterprises Inc. for a 19,600-square-foot store at The Forum in Carlsbad in Carlsbad, Calif. The company will take the majority of the space currently occupied by Borders Direct LLC, which plans to vacate the property in spring 2011. Steve McClurkin and Garret Colburn, of Grubb & Ellis Co., represented the tenant in the transaction. Thomas Enterprises represented itself.
CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. appointed Chris Ludeman as co-president of the firm’s capital markets division. In his new role, Ludeman will provide client services leadership for office, industrial and retail investment properties, and assist with institutional group, global property advisors and private client group activities. At the same time, Ludeman will stay on in his post as president of Americas brokerage, with responsibility for tenant representation and agency leasing business lines. Ludeman has been with CBRE for 30 years.
CBRE also promoted Spencer Levy to executive managing director. In addition to the new appointment, Levy will continue to co-manage the firm’s restructuring and recovery services activities.
In a separate announcement, CBRE promoted Todd Caruso to lead the company’s retail agency practice for brokerage and asset services in the Americas. In his new position, Caruso will focus on growing CBRE’s leasing, management and marketing services for retail properties. Caruso has been with CBRE for 27 years.
Stark Enterprises signed leases with two retailers at Crocker Park in Westlake, Ohio. BCBG Max Azria has signed up for a 3,055-square-foot store at the center, while Anthropologie has agreed to take a 10,000-square-foot store. Both stores will open in the summer.
Kimco Realty Corp. signed leases with three new retailers at Suburban Square in Ardmore, Pa. Sweetgreen, a quick-casual restaurant, opened a 1,775-square-foot store, its first location in the Philadelphia area. Paper Source opened a 2,085-square-foot store, also its first location in the metro region. El Quetzal, a gift and jewelry retailer, signed the third lease. Steven H. Gartner and Brandon Anapol, of Metro Commercial, represented Kimco in the transactions.
RHYS Commercial negotiated multiple retail leases in Western New Haven and Harford Counties in Connecticut.
Hallmark Gold Crown signed a five-year, 4,500-square-foot expansion lease with Gatto Development Corp. for a store at Southbury Plaza in Southbury. Dominick Musilli, executive vice president with RHYS, represented the tenant in the transaction. Jason Wuchiski represented the landlord.
Massage Envy signed a 10-year, 3,200-square-foot lease at Bishop’s Corner in West Hartford. The lease is valued at more than $1 million. Jason Wuchiski negotiated this transaction.
AT&T Mobility signed a five-year 3,200-square-foot lease at The Shops at Somerset Square in Glastonbury. Jason Wuchiski negotiated this transaction.
Callison hired Kathryn Mickel as principal of commercial interiors. In her new position, she will lead Callison’s new specialty interior design service, Monogram by Callison. Mickel has been with Callison since 1995.
Colliers International hired Mark De Riemer as executive managing director. In his new position, De Riemer will focus on arranging investment sales and banking assignments involving office and retail properties for institutional and private clients. De Riemer has 30 years of experience in commercial real estate. Previously, he worked for Jones Lang LaSalle and CB Richard Ellis, among other companies. In addition, Colliers hired Charles Goldberg as senior managing director. Prior to joining Colliers, Goldberg worked for NAI Global, Cushman & Wakefield and Grubb & Ellis.
Forest City Commercial Management appointed Kym Espinosa as marketing director for the 1.1-million-square-foot Promenade Temecula lifestyle center in Temecula, Calif. Espinosa has more than 20 years of experience in the shopping center industry.