Miami Beach-based Equity One bought Sparkleberry Square (below), a 320,971-square-foot center anchored by Kroger, Kohl's and Bed Bath & Beyond in Columbia, S.C., for $45.2 million from a Texas-based private investment group. Equity One says the 44-acre center is one of the largest open-air power centers in South Carolina.
Glimcher Realty Trust CFO Melinda Janik resigned after two years on the job. Smith Barney analyst Ross Nussbaum said Janik's departure was primarily due to “personality fit” issues. Glimcher COO William Cornely, who had been out on medical leave, will temporarily succeed Janik until the company finds a permanent replacement.
Robert L. Tillman, 60-year-old chairman and CEO of Lowe's Home Improvement, stepped down and will be replaced next January by CEO-elect, current president, Robert A. Niblock. Niblock becomes chairman immediately. Tillman is a 41-year Lowe's veteran who was named CEO in 1996 and chairman in 1998.
Marc Kopelman joined Fort Lauderdale-based Stiles Capital Group as investment equity director, overseeing the capitalization of investment services and acquisition activities. Kopelman was a general partner at Zenith Realty Investments, a regional real estate investment firm in South Florida.
Developers Diversified Realty is developing Beaver Creek Commons, a 475,000-square-foot power center in Apex, N.C., that will open this fall. Super Target, Lowe's, Office Max and PETsMART have signed on as anchors.
Ronus Properties, an Atlanta-based real estate asset management and leasing company, sold Stone Mountain Square (below), a 336,663-square-foot power center anchored by Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, Crunch Fitness and Old Navy in Stone Mountain, Ga. An unnamed group of buyers based in Howell, N.J. paid $28.1 million for the center.
Raymond Arthur, former president of toysrus.com, is the new CFO of Toys ‘R’ Us, replacing 11-year veteran Lou Lipschitz. Arthur's promotion comes at a time when the retailer is considering a major financial restructuring. Since Arthur is an in-house exec, the company has also brought in a strategic adviser and a new board member with restructuring experience.
New York-based Rockwood Realty hired Sophie Dagenais as general counsel and chief administrative officer. The 15-year veteran in finance and real estate, was a partner at Philadelphia-based law firm, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll LLC, specializing in real estate and public finance.
Barrington, Ill.-based GK Development Inc. purchased Columbia Mall, a 710,000-square-foot regional mall anchored by Marshall Field's, JCPenney and Sears, in Grand Forks, N.D., for $30 million. The 26-year-old center, which was renovated in 2000 by former owner MetLife of New York targets 15 counties and nearly 100,000 consumers.
Dallas-based Weitzman Group name COO Marshall Mills to the additional position of president of the company, overseeing brokerage operations. Mills joined Weitzman's management and development affiliate, Cencor Realty Services, in 1992. Previously, he was construction lending/workout officer at Chase Manhattan Bank.
In a public/private partnership, the City of Chino Hills, Calif. and Irvine-based Opus West announced plans to develop a 375,000-square-foot regional lifestyle center called the Shoppes at Chino Hills, as part of a $165 million mixed-use development that will include multiple-family homes and a new civic center. Developers are negotiating with Robinsons-May to build a 144,000-square-foot, two-level store. Construction is expected to start in December 2005, and end mid-2006.
Cleveland-based Hudson Village Development Co. and Fairmont Properties are developing a 200,000-square-foot mixed-use center called First & Main (below), including 120,000 square feet of open-air retail complex. The property, designed by locally based Dorsky Hodgson + Partners, will feature three European-style main streets, a library and a bevy of upscale tenants, including Talbots, Jos. A Bank Clothiers and Hibachi & Sushi on the Green. The development is scheduled to open this fall.
Gene Naval joined Minneapolis-based KKE Architects, as head of its Pasadena, Calif., office. He was a principal at Irvine, Calif.-based MCG Architecture, where he worked for 23 years. A 35-year industry veteran, Naval is licensed in both California and the Philippines.
Arlington, Va.-based Mills Corp. named Linda Miller senior vice president of new business development. She will oversee development of domestic and international new client relationships and deals. Miller was vice president of international business development at Taubman Centers, where she sought out European retailers for U.S. properties.
Pennsylvania-based Fisher Development Co. recently sold Rockvale Square (below), a 559,135-square-foot outlet center in Lancaster, Pa., to locally based PA Outlet Center LP, for an undisclosed amount. CB Richard Ellis handled the sale. The new plan is to expand the common areas and restrooms and redo landscaping and directional signage. Bob Moles resigned as president and CEO of Parsippany, N.J.-based Cendant's Real Estate to pursue entrepreneurial ventures in northern California. Alex Perriello, former president and CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate, replaces him. Perriello will oversee more than 12,750 offices and champion the growth and development of real estate franchise entities under the company's name.
Simon Property Group is purchasing 90 acres in Panama City Beach, Fla., from The St. Joe Co. to develop a restaurant, retail and entertainment center at Pier Park, a 130-acre revitalization project under development by St. Joe and the City of Panama City Beach. Pier Park will include 1 million square feet when completed.
Federal Realty Investment Trust paid $97 million for the 637,000-square-foot Westgate Mall in San Jose, Calif. from a locally based private owner. The project, anchored by Safeway, Target and Burlington Coat Factory, is the Maryland-based REIT's second California project. It already owns Santana Row, also in San Jose.
Daniel Sharpe joined Tampa, Fla.-based DeBartolo Development as senior vice president of development and construction.
The Atlantic City Council hired Landings at Caspian Point, LLC, an affiliate of Florham Park, N.J.-based Kushner Cos., to redevelop a 6.4-acre waterfront site currently known as Garwood Mills. The plan calls for converting the area into a strip of luxury residential, retail and recreational space. The site had remained undeveloped for 30 years, since the Garwood Mills department store closed down. The first two construction phases will begin in 2005.
Charles Pigg, a founding partners of Los Angeles-based architecture firm, the Jerde Partnership, announced the formation of Charles Group Intl., an urban design firm. Current projects include San Francisco's Bryant Street Pier and Nanhai Canal Village, in China.