New York - ICSC has announced a new format for its 2001 Spring Convention, Leasing Mall and Trade Exposition to be held May 20-23, 2001 in Las Vegas. The show will be one day shorter and the three main components of the convention - the Leasing Mall, Trade Exposition and Educational Sessions will now run concurrently Monday and Tuesday. Also, the Leasing Mall has expanded hours of operation.
- The Leasing Mall will now open one-and-a-half-days earlier on Monday, May 21. Specific Leasing Mall hours are:
Mon., May 21 - 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tues., May 22 - 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Wed., May 23 - 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
- The Trade Exposition will open on Sunday, May 20 and run concurrently with the Leasing Mall on Monday and Tuesday. The design of the Trade Exposition will be reconfigured to allow for access to the Leasing Mall on Monday and Tuesday. Specific Trade Exposition hours are:
Sun., May 20 - 12 p.m.-5 p.m. Mon., May 21 - 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tues., May 22 - 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
- The Educational Sessions will be held at the Las Vegas Hilton and the Las Vegas Convention Center and will run concurrently with the Trade Exposition and the Leasing Mall.
Birmingham, Ala. - The board of Saks Inc. has decided to split the company in two, leaving Saks Fifth Avenue and other Saks operations as one entity, and the mid-level department store chains that it operates as another. The new Saks Fifth Avenue will manage Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks Direct and Saks Off 5th outlet stores, and the chain's catalog and Internet operations. Saks Inc., which will change its name, will continue to manage the other department stores in the chain, which include Proffitt's, McRae's and Parisian. Saks Inc. has come up short on its earning estimates for three straight quarters, and its stock has dropped 50% since its merger with Proffitt's.
Chattanooga, Tenn. - CBL & Associates Inc. and The Richard E. Jacobs Group Inc. have signed a definitive agreement for CBL to acquire Jacobs' interest in 21 regional malls and two associated centers for a purchase price of approximately $1.2 billion. The portfolio, totaling approximately 19.2 million sq. ft., includes five malls in Wisconsin, three each in North Carolina, Kentucky and South Carolina, two each in Michigan and Ohio, one each in Illinois, Tennessee and Texas and an associated center in both Ohio and Wisconsin. When the acquisition is completed in the first quarter of 2001, CBL's portfolio will represent 55 million sq. ft. in 26 states, making it one of the Top 5 owners of shopping centers.
Long Beach, Calif. - Locally based architectural firm Perkowitz + Ruth recently formed a division specializing in urban design and mixed-use projects. Called Studio One Eleven, the division is already in various planning stages for a dozen urban redevelopment projects, including urban planning work for the City of San Fernando, Calif., and a facade improvement program for the City of Los Angeles.