Costar Retail News

This week's People of Note includes the following markets: Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Milwaukee/Madison, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, South Florida, Washington, DC. LOS ANGELES Cockrum Joins Lowe Enterprises Investors as SVP By Laurie Forbes Lowe Enterprises Investors hired William M. Cockrum IV as senior vice president to head the company’s marketing and capital raising efforts. He will be based in th

7-Eleven Inc. agreed to acquire 55 Sam's Mart stores in North and South Carolina from Sam's Mart LLC and convert them to 7-Eleven stores this year. The transaction is anticipated to close this month. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Once completed, 7-Eleven will return to the greater Charlotte area, where it had operated 7-Eleven stores from 1964 until 1988. The acquisition is part of the world's largest convenience retailer's accelerated...

In The Pipeline is a column on significant acquisitions of commercial land for sale, and other transactions and trends affecting office, industrial, flex, multifamily, mixed-use, hotel and public works developers. Send us news leads about your new commercial real estate project -- and sign up to be added to our distribution list to receive future In the Pipeline columns by e-mail. Trammell Crow, Principal Launch $1B Development Program Principal...

This week's People of Note includes the following markets: Dallas, Denver, National, New York City, Orange County, San Francisco and Washington, DC. DALLAS, NATIONAL Behringer Harvard Appoints New President, CEO of REITs By Laurie Forbes Behringer Harvard hired Michael J. O'Hanlon as an executive vice president of the firm and as CEO and president of Behringer Harvard Opportunity REITs I and II. He took the place

7-Eleven Inc. completed acquiring the retail interests in 51 Texas sites from ExxonMobil. The 51 sites, all of which are in the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area, include two unused parcels of land. The majority of locations will be rebranded as 7-Eleven stores. The stations will retain the Exxon gasoline brand. "This acquisition fits well with our aggressive growth strategy," said Robbie Radant, 7-Eleven's new vice president of mergers and acquisitions...

Kimco Realty Corp. acquired Woodbridge Shopping Center outside Houston in Sugar Land, TX and Bell Camino near Phoenix in Sun City, AZ. The pair of centers traded for an aggregate price of $17.4 million. Woodbridge is 96,623 square feet and its anchor tenant, Kroger, is on a long-term ground lease. At the time of the sale the center was 96% leased. The 63,000-square-foot Bell Camino retail center was 95% leased at the time of the sale. James...

In The Pipeline is a column on significant acquisitions of commercial land for sale, and other transactions and trends affecting office, industrial, flex, multifamily, mixed-use, hotel and public works developers. Send us news leads about your new commercial real estate project -- and sign up to be added to our distribution list to receive future In the Pipeline columns by e-mail. Follow me on Twitter for live news updates. CA Firm Named Hudson...

This week's People of Note includes the following markets: Boston, Houston, New York City and Sacramento. HOUSTON Avison Young Recruits Jeane as Principal By Laurie Forbes Office market leader Lee Jeane joined Avison Young's Houston team. As a principal, he will spearhead the launch of AY’s agency leasing and management platform in the region. His focus will be investors looking to purchase and operate office properties in Houston and throu

After three decades of leadership, Bruce Johnson (pictured, far left) will retire from Regency Centers Corp. (NYSE: REG) at the end of the year. Johnson is an executive vice president at the Jacksonville, FL-based retail development firm and has served as its chief financial officer since 1993. “He is an integral part of Regency’s heritage and epitomizes the attributes that make our people so special. I am extremely grateful to Bruce for his leadership...

Delhaize Group, the Belgium-based parent of Food Lion chain in the U.S., is the latest grocer to shrink its store count. The latest news on store closings follows on the heels of A&P announcing last week that it plans to close 14 more stores following its emergence from bankruptcy and, more recently, another grocery store chain, Sprouts, said it will close three Austin, TX area stores. According to analysts, these store closings won't be the last...

Though stubbornly high unemployment and continued uncertainty over prospects for job growth continue to dampen the outlook for industry retail sales growth in 2012, analysts expect the retail industry will still grow at a rate faster than many other industries. This year, retail industry sales will rise 3.4% to $2.53 trillion - slightly lower than the pace of 2011, in which sales grew 4.7%, according to the National Retail Federation. "Over...

KeyBank signed a purchase and assumption agreement to acquire 37 retail banking branches currently owned by HSBC Bank NA in Buffalo and Rochester, NY. The branches are being sold by First Niagara Bank in connection with its acquisition of HSBC's upstate New York banking franchise. The deposits associated with these branches total approximately $2.4 billion, while loans total approximately $400 million. "This transaction is an exciting opportunity...

Brick-and-mortar retailers and their landlords believe they won a key battle with online sellers in the fight for shoppers' dollars, but skirmishes over the right to tax Internet sales are likely to continue in other statehouses across the county, as well as on Capitol Hill. Some believe the whole issue will eventually end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. The state of Indiana, facing a lawsuit by Indianapolis-based mall owner and developer Simon...

This week's People of Note includes the following markets: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco and South Bay. LOS ANGELES Griffin Capital Taps Sales Veteran as Pres. of Capital Markets By Laurie Forbes Griffin Capital Securities hired Jeffery Schwaber as president of capital markets and to oversee the distribution of Griffin Capit

Private-equity kingpin Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) made its latest foray into commercial real estate, joining forces with DDR Corp. (NYSE: DDR) in a deal to acquire a shopping center portfolio from EPN Group, an affiliate of Tel Aviv-based Elbit Imaging Ltd. The transaction, which is expected to close in June 2012, is valued at $1.43 billion, including at least $950 million in assumed debt and new financings. The open-air power center properties...

Macy's Inc. is planning a series of store openings and closings as part of its efforts prune underperforming locations and fill in gaps in local markets or take advantage of new opportunities at both Macy's and Bloomingdale's. "We continue to be committed to maintaining a healthy portfolio of stores that allows us to focus on growth from our best and most productive locations," said Terry J. Lundgren, Macy's chairman, president and CEO. "This requires...

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company Inc. (A&P) filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking approval to close 14 stores in four states as the company prepares to emerge from Chapter 11. The store closures are expected to be completed in the company's fiscal first quarter, subject to court approval. "We are continuing to take the steps necessary to position A&P to emerge from Chapter 11 with a strong future and ensure that we remain...

Nebraska Book Co. plan to close seven of its off-campus bookstore locations by filing a notice of rejection of unexpired lease filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The stores will remain open for the back-to-school rush this January 2012 and will close in mid-to-late February 2012. The company said it continues to evaluate the performance of 40 additional off- campus stores with landlords Nebraska Book has until April 30, to either assume...

Taubman Centers Inc. turned over the keys on Regency Square in Richmond, VA, to the mortgage lender via a deed in lieu of foreclosure on the property. Title to the property has been transferred to the mortgage lender on behalf of LNR Partners LLC as special servicer. As a result, Taubman has been relieved of $72.2 million of debt obligations plus accrued interest associated with the property. LNR Partners LLC has hired Jones Lang LaSalle to lease...

Sinkula Properties LLC acquired the PPG Porter Paints Store at 4600 Reading Road in Cincinnati, OH, from Neyer Properties for $1 million, or about $77 per square foot. The 12,932-square-foot building was constructed in 1955 and is in the Clifton/Midtown submarket. Porter Paints continues to operate the property as a paint store. Chuck Ciolino of Sperry Van Ness handled both sides of the transaction. Please See CoStar COMPS #2232740...