Boynton Beach Mall recently welcomed eight new local retailers and announced the South Florida debut of CCS, a national skate and extreme sports concept store from Foot Locker Inc., to open later this year.
Additionally, several national retailers are in the process of renovating and updating existing locations.
New to Boynton Beach Mall are the locally-owned Abbey Photography Studio, Comfort Shoes, Kara Fashions jewelry and accessories, Le Petit Pain, a gourmet French bakery, Pigtailz and Coolcutz children's hair salon, Ragg Tagg featuring rock ‘n’ roll, movie and cultural memorabilia and urban outfitters II Gender and Mixx. The mall has also added Humana insurance and healthcare services located in the north wing.
The CCS concept store will open this fall. The new store will carry the latest in boys and girls skateboarding hard goods, apparel, footwear and signature products backed by its exclusive CCS Team of Heath Kirchart, Jerry Hsu, Arto Saari, Ryan Sheckler, Ryan Smith, Corey Duffel, Brian Anderson, Rick Howard, Scott Decenzo, Brandon Westgate, Sierra Fellers, David Gonzalez, Mark Appleyard, Cairo Foster, Silas Baxter-Nea and Torey Pudwill.
Other retailers are expanding their selection and brightening storefronts with renovations, new landscaping, signage and fixtures. JCPenney is undergoing an extensive renovation of its105,000-square-foot store that will soon include a 2,000-square-foot Sephora beauty boutique. Macy’s is improving its exterior façade while Hot Topic and Auntie Anne’s, are updating their store looks and presentations. Both Globall Sports and Gold Buyers+ have expanded to larger spaces within in the mall.
“With all of the exciting developments, additions and renovations underway, this is a busy time for us,” Boynton Beach Mall General Manager Darren Shepherd said in a statement. “Our mall continues to be a great community resource in supporting local economic growth and providing a meeting place for friends and family to enjoy.”
Nordstrom Rack Relocates in Long Island
Seattle-based Nordstrom Inc. announced plans to relocate its Nordstrom Rack at the Mall at the Source to the Gallery at Westbury Plaza, new 330,000-square-foot, open-air shopping center in Westbury, N.Y., owned and operated by Equity One. The new store will be located approximately a quarter of a mile from the existing location and is expected to open in fall 2012.
The Long Island Nordstrom Rack was the first Rack store to open in New York in 1997. By relocating, Nordstrom Rack will be able to open a new 36,000-square-foot store in a new development that is closer to the Nordstrom full-line store at Roosevelt Field. Nordstrom operates three Rack stores and two full-line stores in the state of New York.
"The Mall at the Source has been a good home for us for the last 14 years," Nordstrom Rack President Geevy Thomas said in statement. "We're always looking for ways to better serve our customers and this relocation gives us a great opportunity to improve the shopping experience at the Rack. We think the Gallery at Westbury Plaza is an exciting new project and we look forward to opening our doors in 2012."
Whole Foods Signs Leases in Minnesota and North Carolina
Whole Foods Market announced deals at shopping centers in Minnesota and North Carolina.
In the first deal, St. Paul, Minn.-based developer Paster Enterprises LLC announced that Whole Foods would opening a 32,000-square-foot standalone location at the company’s Minnetonka, Minn., property.
Construction on the project, a joint venture between Paster Enterprises and Shiner Capital Partners, a Chicago-based real estate investment firm, officially began on April 20, 2011.
Under general contractor Novak Construction, the exterior of the current building, a former Circuit City location, will receive minor modifications, while the interior of the building will undergo a complete overhaul. Whole Foods Market is slated for a fall 2011 opening.
In a separate deal, Indianapolis, Ind.-based Kite Realty Group Trust announced that Whole Foods would replace a former Lowe’s Foods at a shopping center the firm acquired in Wilmington, N.C., in February as a redevelopment opportunity.
Kite will rename the center Oleander Point, which will include 50,000 square feet of space upon completion. Construction at the center is currently scheduled to commence this summer allowing Whole Foods to open in the spring of 2012. Construction costs are anticipated to total approximately $5.0 million.
Central Market to Replace Borders at Dallas Property
Fort Worth, Texas-based Trademark Property Co. announced that HEB Grocery Co. L.P. would open a 30,000-square-foot Central Market store at its Preston Oaks shopping center in Dallas. The Central Market will replace a former Borders, with hopes of opening before Thanksgiving this year.
Trademark plans to update the center with new graphics, accent lighting, site amenities and landscape upgrades, and will immediately start a re-merchandising effort.
Altschuler Rejoins Cohen Commercial
Robert Altschuler has rejoined Cohen Commercial Properties, an owner and operator of shopping centers throughout the U.S., as senior director of leasing for Cohen Asset Advisory Corp., Cohen Commercial’s management division. Altschuler is responsible for 3,000,000 square feet of Cohen Commercial Properties’ portfolio as well as select third party relationships.
Altschuler began his career at Marx Realty and Improvement Co., Inc. in 1983 where he served as vice president and director of leasing.
HFF Houston Hires West as Managing Director to Focusing on Retail Investments
HFF announced today that Ryan West has joined the firm as a managing director in its Houston office to focus on retail investment sales transactions throughout the southwestern United States.
West joins HFF from CBRE, where he was a first vice president in the private client group since 2007. During this time, he was recognized as a top producer in their Houston office and as a top 10 producer within the network of brokers that make up CBRE’s private client group.
Other Notable News
CB Richard Ellis promoted of Nick Boehme to director of project management/asset services for the state of Florida. The project management specialty involves the coordination and management of construction projects for users or investors of commercial real estate properties. In addition to serving as a key project manager he will be the liaison with the director of asset services in each of Florida’s major market areas. Prior to this promotion, Mr. Boehme served as project manager in the Orlando market.
Brad Lyons and Steven Vazquez have joined Savills LLC as vice presidents. Lyons will be involved in arranging debt financing, including acquisition and construction financing, for new and existing clients. He also will help structure mezzanine and equity tranches, among other responsibilities. Lyons most recently served as a vice president with Capital Trust in New York and previously was an analyst for New York Life Investment Management. Vazquez joins the firm’s hotel practice.
PwC US announced that Paul Williams has joined the firm's real estate business advisory services practice as a managing director. Working within the financial instruments, structured products and real estate group, Paul will be responsible for building the real estate capital markets practice. Williams will initially be based in the New York office for the next few months, until re-locating to Boston. Williams is rejoining PwC after having been with the firm earlier in his career. He also worked for eight years as a principal for Bank of America Securities in the real estate investment banking practice and was head of capital markets and corporate strategy for CNL Hotels and Resorts.