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Retail Investment Spree Continues With $400 Million Portfolio Buy and Major Center Trades
Major Retailer Claire’s Bankruptcy Puts 700 Mall Stores on the Market
“The Place To Be”: Simon CEO Praises Brick-and-Mortar Momentum
McDonald’s Taps Nostalgia With McDonaldland Return and Merchandise Collabs
Design Giant Stantec Expands With Page Acquisition
BREIT Appoints Interim CEO After Wesley LePatner’s Death
Retail Investment Spree Continues With $400 Million Portfolio Buy and Major Center Trades
Following a recent $212 million Oklahoma portfolio buy, Bain Capital Real Estate and 11North Partners have purchased 10 open-air retail centers in Florida and South Carolina for $395.5 million. The seller was PGIM Real Estate, which also just sold a property to Brixmor for $223 million. Publix anchors seven of the properties in the joint venture’s latest deal.
A joint venture on a buying spree has acquired Florida’s Plantation Promenade, above; New Tampa Center, at top; and eight other open-air centers in Florida and South Carolina. Photos above and at top courtesy of Bain Capital and 11North Partners
Collectively, the 10 retail centers — in Charleston, South Carolina, and Florida’s Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Palm Beach and Tampa — encompass more than 1 million square feet of gross leasable area and boast an occupancy rate of 93%, according to JLL, which represented PGIM. The JV, formed in 2024, buys and operates open-air centers in the U.S. and Canada.
MORE FROM C+CT: Publix’s Bridgid O’Connor Discusses Store Strategy
Ashkenazy Snaps Up 374,000-Square-Foot Queens’ Shops at Atlas Park for $72 Million
Ashkenazy Acquisition has purchased Queens, New York’s Shops at Atlas Park from Macerich and another seller. The 12 acre-property includes a 374,000-square-foot lifestyle center and 1,400 parking spaces. Commercial Observer reported that the purchase price was $72 million.
The Shops at Atlas Park in Queens, New York. Photo courtesy of Ashkenazy Acquisition/Business Wire
Ashkenazy’s website says the company “aims to acquire irreplaceable properties in premier locations with the potential for significant increase[s] in cash flow and residual value.”
Elsewhere in New York, Ashkenazy owns Vernon Hills Shopping Center in Westchester, Cross County Mall in Yonkers and 635 and 660 Madison Ave., a notable Manhattan high street. Also in the company’s portfolio are Boston’s Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Miami’s Bayside, San Antonio’s Shops at Rivercenter, Seattle’s Shops at Bravern and Los Angeles’ Beverly Connection. The entire portfolio — spanning more than 15 million square feet of retail, hospitality, office and residential — comprises over 100 buildings valued at $12 billion.
Two More Trades: Publix-Anchored Center in Florida and $46 Million Vegas Acquisition
JLL also recently represented the seller of another Publix-anchored center in Florida: St. Petersburg’s a 129,150-square-foot Disston Plaza. A joint venture among AEW, Mack Real Estate Group and Soundwater Properties acquired the property for $31.4 million, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal, which also reported that the seller was Blackstone. The center is 90% leased to tenants like Bealls, Dollar Tree and Pet Supermarket.
The Publix-anchored Disston Plaza in St. Petersburg, Florida. Photo courtesy of JLL
And in Las Vegas, Paradise Esplanade has sold for $46.4 million. The buyer was Litwin Management, according to a LinkedIn post from JLL managing director of capital markets Daniel Tyner, who was among those representing the seller. His post said the deal is Litwin’s first Vegas retail acquisition. Next to Virgin Hotels Las Vegas and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the 58,727-square-foot center is 88% leased, including a CVS Pharmacy visited by more than 1.1 million people a year, according to JLL.
Paradise Esplanade is located on Paradise Road, near the Virgin Hotel Las Vegas and UNLV. Photo courtesy of JLL
Retail deals show no signs of slowing. On a second-quarter earnings call this week, for example, Federal CEO Don Wood said the company plans to complete two sizable acquisitions by year’s end as part of a broadening investment strategy. Similarly, other firms are ramping up activity.
Claire’s Bankruptcy Puts 700 Mall Stores on the Market
A Claire’s at Vintage Faire mall in Modesto, California, on March 7. Photo by TaurusEmerald - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Claire’s — a jewelry, accessories and cosmetics retailer that caters to teens and tween — voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware on Wednesday. The longtime mall fixture also plans to file for Canada’s version of bankruptcy. The retailer said it “continues to explore all strategic alternatives.” Court documents indicate the company aims to close 700 stores in North America, including its Icing-branded stores and 210 store-within-store Walmart locations. That leaves another 800 stores in North America for which Claire’s said it would pursue a “value-maximizing transaction.” Retail Dive reports, however, that Claire’s already has been looking for a buyer with no luck.
All told, the company operates 2,750 Claire’s stores in North America and Europe, and 190 Icing stores in North America. Claire’s also has more than 300 franchised stores, mostly in the Middle East and South Africa. The chain previously filed for bankruptcy in 2018.
Recent store closures, many of them triggered by bankruptcy filings like the Claire’s case, have freed up space for retailers eager to expand. Coresight Research estimates 127 million square feet of retail space in the U.S. will be vacated in 2025. However, such store closures come amid both tight inventory of new space and continuing demand for square footage. Retailers have been lining up for big-box space vacated by Bed Bath & Beyond and other retailers following their recent bankruptcy filings. Now, there may be plenty of brands ready to absorb Claire’s spaces at well-performing malls. Athleisure retailer Fabletics, women’s apparel retailer Princess Polly and fast-fashion retailer Primark all “have made the mall a key part of their physical retail strategy,” Modern Retail recently reported.
Incidentally, bidding wars are heating up for anchor space in core-retail-market power centers, thanks in part to limited supply of new space, according to CBRE’s new 2025 U.S. Real Estate Market Outlook Midyear Review.
“The Place To Be”: Simon CEO Praises Brick-and-Mortar Momentum
Simon is seeing “unabated” demand for retail space, according to the REIT’s president and CEO, David Simon. “The physical shopping environment continues to be the place to be,” he said during a recent earnings call, adding: “Traffic is up, sales are holding their own and our properties are continuing to get better.” As of the end of the second quarter, Simon’s occupancy rate stood at 96%. Executive vice president and CFO Brian McDade said that during the second quarter, Simon signed about 1,000 leases totaling more than 3.6 million square feet. About 30% of those leases were new deals, not renewals.
Simon Expands Leadership Team With Key Promotions
Simon has promoted Eli Simon from executive vice president and chief investment officer to COO, charged with working with David Simon on property performance, new development, investments and brand strategy. Eli Simon joined the company from Och-Ziff Capital Management and Och-Ziff Real Estate, where he oversaw lodging related investments.
Simon also has named Eric Sadi and Jon Murphy co-presidents of North American real estate to head asset management and leasing across the REIT’s mall, Mills and Premium Outlets platforms. Sadi joined Simon in 2006, and Murphy came onboard four years later. Since 2020, they’ve served as co-presidents of the mall platform.
McDonald’s Taps Nostalgia With McDonaldland Return and Merchandise Collabs
A month ago, Commerce + Communities Today reported on three nostalgic restaurants finding new life, and now McDonald’s is cooking up some of its own sentimentality for the past at its roughly 13,500 U.S. restaurants.
Starting Tuesday, the fast-food chain is bringing back some familiar McDonaldland characters after a more than 20-year absence: Ronald McDonald, Grimace, Birdie, Hamburglar, Mayor McCheese and the Funny Fry Friends. The chain introduced the good and evil characters in 1971, delighting millions until the chain largely phased out McDonaldland in 2003, according to the McDonald’s Wiki. The company also is rolling out the McDonaldland Meal, geared as much toward nostalgic adults as toward today’s kids. The meal features a limited-edition Mt. McDonaldland Shake; collectible tins containing postcards, stickers and more; french fries; and a Quarter Pounder With Cheese or 10 Chicken McNuggets. In addition, McDonald’s has forged McDonald merchandise collaborations with clothing brand Pacsun and luggage brand Away.
What’s nostalgic for one generation can be new and different for younger age groups. Either way, it adds up to marketing power. “Over the past few years, we’ve seen how fans flock to our characters, everyone from Grimace to the Hamburglar,” said McDonald’s vice president of U.S. marketing, brand, content and culture JJ Healan. “But many, especially the new generation, don’t know that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s an entire magical world of McDonaldland filled with characters, places and lore.”
Design Giant Stantec Expands With Page Acquisition
Stantec helped develop the McGregor Square mixed-use project in Denver’s Ballpark District. Image courtesy of Moss Photography
Design and engineering firm Stantec has wrapped up its acquisition of 1,400-employee architecture and engineering firm Page. With more than 13,500 employees, Stantec now ranks as the second-largest architecture firm in the U.S. Both Stantec and Page have worked on retail and mixed-use projects.
BREIT Appoints Interim CEO After Wesley LePatner’s Death
Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust has appointed co-president Rob Harper as interim CEO following the July 28 death of CEO Wesley LePatner. Harper, who is senior managing director and head of real estate asset management Americas at Blackstone, member of BREIT’s board since August 2023 and co-president since March, will retain the roles while the $53 billion REIT’s board searches for a permanent successor, according to a Thursday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
LePatner was among four victims killed in a mass shooting at the Manhattan high-rise that houses Blackstone’s headquarters. She had been promoted to CEO of BREIT in January. The REIT’s holdings include retail and hospitality properties.
—Additional reporting by C+CT managing editor Katie Kervin and editor-in-chief Amanda Metcalf
By John Egan
Contributor, Commerce + Communities Today