Airport Retail Takes Flight
Jul 26, 2006
Airport retail has been a growing sector since 2001. Because of heightened security, travelers have to show up at the airport earlier and have more time to peruse in-terminal retail options. That success is now inspiring developers at Dallas/Fort Worth International and Denver International to think big...
Investors Keep Buying Retail In Spite of Warning Signs
Jul 19, 2006
Retail properties continued to benefit from strong investor interest during the first half of 2006—but demand for all types of retail was not equal, according to the Korpacz Real Estate Survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Power centers anchored by big box tenants were the most sought after properties during the quarter, while deals involving regional malls dropped sharply. ...
Are Retail Real Estate Prices About to Fall?
Jul 12, 2006
The biggest question emerging from this week’s one-two punch of Centro Properties Group’s proposed buy of Heritage Property Investment Trust and Kimco Realty Corp.’s proposed acquisition of Pan Pacific Retail Properties Inc., for a combined $7.2 billion, is whether the deals signal a cooling in prices for retail real estate. ...
Merger Monday: Heritage, Pan Pacific bought for combined $7.2B; Deals raise pricing questions
Jul 10, 2006
Ending a lull in the retail REIT merger and acquisition market, Kimco Realty Corp. and Centro Properties Group today each announced big deals, with Kimco grabbing West Coast shopping center REIT Pan Pacific Retail Properties Inc. for $4 billion and Centro landing East Coast shopping center REIT Heritage Property Investment Trust for $3.2 billion. What has raised observers’ eyebrows on both deals is that neither Kimco or Centro seems to be paying a premium, which could be a sign that the market for retail real estate is slowing. ...
Branch Banking Bingo: Consolidation Leaves Stores Vacant for other Retailers
Jul 5, 2006
For years, banks have waged a nationwide race to open up as many bank branches as possible as competitors have tried to one-up each other in building their retail banking business. The top 20 banks in the U.S. alone will open 1,000 new branches in 2006, according to research firm www.bankstocks.com—growing their combined networks by 3 percent. ...
SEIU Targets Malls for Organizing Drive
Jun 28, 2006
The fastest growing sector of the U.S. labor movement has been immigrant workers. And the next frontier in that organizing effort is apparently mall workers—mainly janitors and security guards....
Is Liquidation the Next Step for Lord & Taylor?
Jun 28, 2006
The official word from NRDC Equity Partners, which agreed to buy Lord & Taylor for $1.2 billion last week, is that it will give the storied chain a badly needed makeover and move it back upscale. But, the word on the street in the retail business is that the joint venture between National Realty & Development Corp. and Apollo Real Estate Advisors is sure to dismantle the 48-store chain....
Buyers Back Away as Mills Deadline Passes
Jun 21, 2006
One measure of how dicey things are for beleaguered Mills Corp. is the inconclusive response to its invitation for takeover bids. Facing a deteriorating financial situation and investigation by the Securities & Exchange Commission, the Arlington-based developer opened up a bidding contest in May. The deadline for entries passed last week and the only news from the publicly-held REIT was a brief statement indicating that it had received responses, but declined to elaborate on how many companies expressed interest or provide any information about the bids. ...
Federal Realty and DDR Sell Properties to Institutional Partners
Jun 14, 2006
In the past week, both Federal Realty Investment Trust and Developers Diversified Realty made new deals with joint-venture partners. The transactions are part of a trend among retail REITs to sell stabilized properties into partnerships with pension funds and other institutional investors as a way to free up capital for new acquisitions and development. ...
Michigan Moguls Join Forces
Jun 14, 2006
In a partnership that brings together two families with long histories in Michigan real estate, Gershenson Realty & Investment has teamed with the Kiriluk family’s Kirco Management Services to develop mixed-use projects in the Midwest and Southeast. ...
NAREIT panel: More Privatizations En Route
Jun 7, 2006
The big buzz during the NAREIT conference this week has been the proposed $8.9 billion buyout of Trizec Corp. by The Blackstone Group and Brookfield Property Corp. According to speakers at a NAREIT panel on Tuesday, the REIT sector can expect more such deals and in all property types. ...
Retail Developers Dive Deeper into Mixed Use
Jun 7, 2006
Mixed-use development remains the buzzword of choice as more retail REITs look to add apartments, offices or hotels to new or existing shopping centers. During the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts conference this week, Pennsylvania REIT became the latest to push the mixed-use mantra, saying it would add residential components to its planned 500-acre Gainesville, Fla. complex and to its Echelon mall in Voorhees, N.J....
Speeding Up Property Sales
May 31, 2006
As if the pace of investment sales of retail real estate properties weren't already frenetic, now brokers are coming up with new methods to accelerate the action. The new systems include a hybrid sealed bid/live auction setup from Sperry Van Ness and an online “trading floor” from Faris Lee, called FLI Exchange. Both are billed as ways of taking time and money out of the sale process, especially for smaller properties. ...
Agree to Disagree: Michigan REIT spurns unsolicited buyout bid
May 17, 2006
What started as a behind-the-scenes buyout offer has bubbled into a public war as Agree Realty Corp., a small retail REIT owning primarily single-tenant properties mostly in the Midwest, has spurned a third offer from privately-owned Compson Holding Corp. to acquire the REIT. ...
Shopko Sale/Leaseback Puts Spirit on Map
May 10, 2006, By David Bodamer
The $815.3 million sale/leaseback deal between ShopKo Stores Inc. and Spirit Finance Corp. announced this morning is a watershed event for both firms--positioning ShopKo to pursue aggressive expansion plans while bolstering Spirit as a growing force in the net lease market....
