It's still unclear whether the Visalia City Council will approve a controversial proposal to designate farmland at Caldwell and Highway 99 for retail development.

The city's proposed long-term growth plan, good until 2030, would let the property be annexed and developed when the city gets larger or a specialty retailer such as Ikea comes knocking. The council has to vote on it.

At a joint session last week of the City Council and Planning Commission, Mooney Boulevard property owners argued against the designation, saying that premature development would deflate the economic power of the city's commercial strip.

Two council members -- Bob Link and Greg Collins -- staked out opposite positions.

Link, a downtown business owner, said he favors the designation because the city will grow. Downtown survived despite competition from Mooney Boulevard, he said.

Collins, an independent planning consultant, said that "not being on 99 is what distinguishes us from other communities," so the city should butt out.

Their fellow council members stopped short of saying how they would vote.

Council Member Warren Gubler said the current plan is too vague about the timing and type of retail development. But, he said, "it's an area we need to plan for eventually."

Council Member Steve Nelsen said if the city does nothing, the county could say yes to development -- it's outside city limits -- and the city will have missed out on major sales tax revenues.

Mayor Amy Shuklian said she wants to make a decision that won't keep her up at night.

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Lew Griswold: Visalia considers turning farmland into retail space

By Nico Saieh (Click here for original article)

The exhibition and retail pavilion inside the Postojna cave is the first underground post office building in the world. The aim of the project was the renovation of a pavilion in the Concert Hall deemed inappropriate functionally and material-wise. The design would as well replace previously inappropriate visitor sanitary facilities located at the platform with new ones within the structure and connect them to a new biological treatment plant. The entire construction was possible only within the maximum dimensions of the partly demolished existing structure, while the specifics of construction in an underground cave required the use of inorganic construction materials appropriate for such conditions, adjusted to simple transport by the cave train and appropriate for manual fitting.

The entire construction and fitting of construction elements observed nature protection requirements for the smallest impact on the value of nature possible. The concept of sustainability is also reflected in the heating system and ventilation and, last but not least, the first underground biological treatment plant in Slovenia.

The exhibition and retail pavilion is designed in two parts. The pavilion part is a transparent, passable area with four entrances/exits, designed within a longitudinal volume in the form of the letter S, thus reflecting the wall of the underground hall. The volume is structured in a manner that directs the flow of visitors and points to entrances and exits.

In the renovated service part of the structure, service areas and new sanitary facilities for the visitors of the postojna cave were provided as well as connected to the treatment plant on the level of the platform. The interior of the structure functions as a uniform, flexible space with installed floor plugs for plug-in exhibits and movable equipment. The volume of the exhibition and retail area is transparent throughout the entire interior height, functioning as an extension of the concert hall.

The exhibition and retail area is flexible, as it is equipped with floor plugs prepared for plug-in equipment elements or exhibits. Other equipment elements in the exhibition niche can also be plugged in as desired to wall holders according to required exhibition or retail purposes.

Architects: Studio Stratum Polona Filipic, Peter Senk, Marko Pretnar, Grega Tramte Location: Postojna, Slovenia Collaborators: Marko Senk, Peter Emil Groselj Client: Postojnska jama, d.d. Structure: Spit d.o.o. Services: Winky d.o.o., Arctur d.o.o. Biological Treatment Plant: Cid d.o.o. Project Year: 2011 Photographs: Miran Kambic

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Exhibition and Retail Pavillion in the Concert Hall in the Postojna Cave / Studio Stratum

Retail real estate investment trusts and related exchange traded funds will provide investors with attractive dividends as the economy improves and retail sales grow, say S&P analysts.

S&P Capital IQ holds a Marketweight ranking on the iShares FTSE NAREIT Retail Index Fund (NYSEArca: RTL) , which follows a group of retail REITs traded on the FTSE NAREIT Retail Capped Index. The fund holds companies, like Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG - News), CBL & Associates Properties (NYSE: CBL - News) and Macerich (NYSE: MAC - News), that have experienced rising occupancy levels and rent growth. The ETF has an expense ratio of 0.48% and a 12-month yield of 3.35%.

S&P Capital IQ believes retailer sentiment is buoyant, with sales rising, retailers expanding, and many retail REITs trading at elevated levels driven by improving operating results and relatively rich dividend yields, Robert McMillan, S&P Capital IQ Equity Analyst, wrote in a research note. We anticipate that shopping center REITs will use their improving cash flows to increase dividends over the course of 2012.

REITs are securities that trade like stocks on major exchanges. The investments hold physical properties that generate revenue from rent payments. To qualify for favorable tax treatments, the REIT will distribute a hefty portion of its revenue as dividends to investors. [Real Estate: List of REIT ETFs]

S&P calculates that real GDP will expand 2.1% year-over-year in 2012, compared to the 1.7% growth in 2011. Their analysts also project growth in personal expenditures to rise 2%.

Additionally, S&P notes that lower retailer bankruptcies and reduced store closures is helping the retail REITs space. According to CBRE Econometric Advisors 4th quarter 2011 outlook, they estimate the retail space will expand 29.4 million to 37.4 million square feet in 2012 and 2013, respectively, compared to a drop of 3.9 million square feet in 2010 and an increase of 2.1 million square feet for 2011.

However, the economic downturn triggered a sharp decline in shipping center construction that we see persisting in the near term which should help exert upward pressure on occupancy levels and, ultimately, rents, S&P cautioned.

iShares FTSE NAREIT Retail Index Fund

RTL_ETF

For more information on real estate investment trusts, visit our REITS category.

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S&P’s Retail REIT ETF Pick

Mall of America is moving ahead with plans for a $200 million expansion that would add a second hotel, more retail space and a medical office tower at the megamall.

The project would be another step in MOA's long-planned and oft-delayed expansion. A Radisson Blu hotel is currently under construction on the south side of the Bloomington mall. This expansion would take place on its north side.

"It's the next piece that we're trying to assemble and get financed and move forward with," said Kurt Hagen, senior vice president of development for mall owner Triple Five Group.

If those pieces fall into place, "We anticipate this will be in the ground next spring, about a year from now," Hagen said Friday, March 23.

Back in 2006, officials unveiled a huge expansion plan that would have doubled the size of the megamall, but that plan stalled. Now the strategy is to proceed in smaller steps.

Rochester's Mayo Clinic has formally expressed interest in joining the latest project, which could include 150,000 square feet of medical space, perhaps in a medical office tower. Hagen said both parties are "still exploring" what Mayo's presence would be.

"The building itself could be more than Mayo Clinic," Hagen said. "Mayo is focused on a wellness facility here. They're not focusing on a hospital."

The expansion also calls for another hotel. "Depending on the type and the brand of hotel we choose, that will help us determine the right room count," Hagen said.

The

"We'd like to take it higher-end retail," Hagen said. "All these pieces kind of tie together - the flag and brand of the hotel, the services that Mayo is offering, and the type of retail this wing will cater to."

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Mall of America plans $200 million expansion

Originally published March 22, 2012 at 5:43 PM | Page modified March 22, 2012 at 11:13 PM

Seattle developer Security Properties has proposed a six-story apartment and retail building in Columbia City that may be anchored by a PCC Natural Markets grocery.

PCC has signed a letter of intent to lease the 25,000-square-foot ground-floor space at Rainier Avenue South and South Edmunds Street, according to several sources.

Tom Monahan, PCC's marketing manager, wouldn't confirm that. "We have interest in that neighborhood," he said, "but no lease in hand."

The 1.5-acre property, considered ripe for redevelopment, is now the site of Columbia Plaza, a retail mall built as a supermarket in the 1950s. Security Properties is in the process of buying it from HAL Real Estate of Seattle, which acquired it in 2007.

HAL had development plans of its own, initially proposing a 306-unit apartment complex with 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail.

But, since the property is in the Columbia City Historic District, new construction requires approval from the city's Landmarks Preservation Board. And its members agreed last spring that the bulk and scale of HAL's project conflicted with the neighborhood's character.

HAL and Security Properties starting talking about a sale last summer and signed a contract last fall, said John Marasco, Security's chief development officer.

Security's proposed project has fewer apartments only about 200 and more retail, nearly 30,000 square feet. Parking for about 260 vehicles would be provided, according to preliminary paperwork filed with city planners.

Marasco said he's confident his company can succeed where HAL failed with historic-preservation advocates. "The biggest difference is, we've actually got the benefit of all those [board] meetings with HAL," he said. "We think we can give them what they're looking for."

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PCC grocery could be part of Columbia City project

A Chittenango businessman soon will be the new owner of the Skaneateles Village Hall.

The village board Thursday voted 5-0 to accept the high bid of $830,000 made by Rick Moscarito.

Moscarito, president of Fingerlakes Luxury Homes Inc. in Chittenango, said he hopes to renovate the lakefront village offices for retail space on the first floor and living space on the upper floors. He is working with Skaneateles architect Robert Eggleston.

Weve been going around and around with ideas, but nothing is set in stone yet, Moscarito said. Whatever I choose to do with the building, its going to be absolutely beautiful and compliment the buildings surrounding it, in addition to preserving the historic look of the building.

Moscarito, 42, owns a development company, Ty-Cass Property Development, that renovates and constructs homes and commercial buildings in Central New York and the Finger Lakes region.

Moscarito, who spends his summers in Skaneateles, said he has renovated two homes in the village, one on Genesee Street and the other on Fennell Street. He also demolished and built another home on Fennell Street.

Those properties, along with two other homes on Owasco Lake about 10 minutes from Skaneateles are run under Fingerlakes Luxury Homes, Moscarito said. One of the properties on Owasco Lake has been renovated, while renovations are about to begin on the other, he said.

In 2007, Moscarito bought Chittenangos Hippie House mansion on Madison Street, and preserved the landmarks high ceilings, thick walls and Italian-style architecture before he moved his two consulting businesses there. The mansion, built in 1864, became known as the Hippie House because it was regularly occupied by bikers and transients.

We try to preserve the historic integrity of every building that we work on, Moscarito said.

The Skaneateles Village Board decided to sell its village offices at 46 E. Genesee St. to consolidate offices and put the building back on the tax rolls.

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Chittenango man plans to convert Skaneateles village hall into retail, residential space

The Owings Mills market can't handle major retail development at the former Solo Cup property and other sites along the Reisterstown Road corridor, according to studies commissioned by the developer planning to revamp the mall.

The market analysis and traffic studies released Wednesday by Kimco Realty come as Baltimore County begins a broad zoning review. As competition builds between developers, Owings Mills revitalization is expected to be among the most controversial topics.

Kimco is planning a $65 million redevelopment of Owings Mills Mall, now more than half-empty. It is one of three major projects in the area. Nearby, a large mixed-use development called Metro Centre is under construction; and at the site of the former Solo Cup factory, the firm Greenberg Gibbons wants to build Foundry Row, a retail development anchored by a Wegmans grocery store.

"This market only will bear so much retail," said Geoffrey Glazer, Kimco's vice president of acquisition and development.

Too much development could lead to "market deterioration," according to Kimco's retail study, conducted by the Bethesda firm Streetsense. It could saturate the market and scatter demand among too many stores and restaurants.

Greenberg Gibbons plans to release its own economic impact study next week.

The firm "is very bullish on Owings Mills and is excited by the opportunity to deliver a first-class retail project with Wegmans that will benefit the community," Tom Fitzpatrick, the firm's president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.

"It seems [Kimco's] report was designed to paint a highly negative picture of the Owings Mills retail market. We do not share that view," Fitzpatrick said. "In fact, we believe that Foundry Row will complement other developments planned for the area and that a rising tide will lift all boats."

Glazer and Howard Brown of David S. Brown Enterprises developer of Metro Centre have contended that retail uses at the Solo Cup property would create traffic congestion and too much vacant space in the area.

About 600,000 square feet along Reisterstown Road could be approved for retail use this year, including the Solo Cup site. According to the study, granting those requests would lead to 19 percent more retail space than demand can support.

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Owings Mills Mall builder raises concerns about area market

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif., March 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Construction has commenced at the first village of the new ranch community of Rancho Mission Viejo, comprised of more than 17,000 acres of permanent open space and 6,000 acres of future residential and mixed-use development, according to Anthony R. Moiso, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rancho Mission Viejo, LLC.

Rancho Mission Viejo, Orange County's last working ranch, has been held in the O'Neill/Avery/Moiso family since 1882. Pursuant to a comprehensive County of Orange-approved open space preservation and land use management plan for the Ranch, approximately 75% will be preserved as part of a larger habitat conservation area known as The Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo and 25% will be developed into multiple villages.

Combined with additional open spaces already dedicated by the Rancho Mission Viejo family, The Reserve will grow over time to nearly 21,000 acres. Ultimately, The Reserve will be combined with County-owned lands to form the 33,000-acre Southern Subregion Habitat Reserve, one of California's largest and most diverse habitat reserves.

"Our partners, DMB Associates, and all of us at Ranch Headquarters, are honored, proud and excited to make this announcement today," said Moiso. "For nearly fifty years, our family has kept our ranch intact, perpetuating our ranching and farming heritage while helping the region meet and manage its growth through the establishment of the planned communities of Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Las Flores, and Ladera Ranch. Today, with the start of construction at this new village on the Ranch and the phased enrollment of land into The Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo, this legacy of land stewardship continues."

Multiple villages are planned to be developed on a total of 6,000 acres of the Ranch. Collectively, over the next two decades, these villages are expected to offer 14,000 homes (including 6,000 active adult residences) and five million square feet of non-residential uses. In addition, schools, parks and recreational facilities, shopping and employment centers will be developed, as well as an inter-connected system of arterial roadways and hiking/biking trails carefully integrated with some of the Ranch's agrarian spaces and natural habitat.

"Since 1882, our family has understood that the blessings of landownership are matched by our obligation to be a good neighbor and a responsible contributor to the community," said Moiso. "This culture of care has been at the heart of every community we've created. It is the foundation of the ongoing development of Rancho Mission Viejo."

The first village on the Ranch will be Sendero, currently scheduled to open in summer 2013. Encompassing approximately 690 acres and offering approximately 940 attached and detached homes and 200 apartment units, Sendero will include the gated active adult enclave of Gavilan, providing 285 single-level residences adjacent to a private clubhouse and recreational facilities. Among the amenities planned for all Sendero residents are a centrally located community hall, clubhouse and recreational core, a 15-acre community park, neighborhood parks, hiking/biking trails accessing Reserve trails and a County Regional hiking and biking trails network, a 10-acre retail plaza, fire station, and a child day care center.

Sendero and Gavilan homebuilders include Meritage Homes, Ryland Homes, SeaCountry Homes, Shea Homes, Standard Pacific Homes, The Pulte Group, TRI Pointe Homes, William Lyon Homes, and Western National Group.

"We are very enthusiastic to begin developing homes in Sendero on the Ranch," said Bert Selva, President and Chief Executive Officer of Shea Homes. "The superb, scenic and coastal-close south Orange County location combined with quick and easy proximity to both urban centers and regional parks, makes the Ranch a prime location for a new community in Orange County. We look forward to the grand opening of Sendero and Gavilan next year."

Rancho Mission Viejo and the first village of Sendero are located in the heart of south Orange County, just 2.3 miles from downtown San Juan Capistrano and five miles from the coastal attractions of San Clemente and Dana Point Harbor.

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Construction Commences at First Village on Rancho Mission Viejo

Despite concerns from a handful of residents, environmentalists and others that a proposed mega-retail center on one of the last major swaths of open land in San Jose will negatively affect traffic and quality of life, the San Jose City Council on Tuesday night easily approved rezoning the area for such a project.

In a 7-to-1 vote, the council agreed to change the designation of about 45 acres of land on the northeast corner of Highway 85 and Almaden Expressway to commercial use only.

The council also denied a recent appeal of the project's environmental impact report by an adjacent landowner concerned about a new traffic median that he thinks will affect some nearby businesses.

Only Councilman Kansen Chu was opposed each time, siding with the affected business owners.

Councilwomen Rose Herrera, Nancy Pyle and Madison Nguyen were absent.

Saying the appellant's traffic issues were not significant enough to halt the project, Mayor Chuck Reed supported the zoning change because he believes the new retail center will help boost retail sales tax revenue in the city. Reed estimates the city loses up to 20 percent of retail sales tax revenue that now goes to other cities where San Jose residents shop.

"We've asked staff to aggressively pursue that (issue). ... This is a project that will help us do that," Reed said. "When you compare this project to what is across the street, I would say it's vastly superior to most of the

Early on, the city's planning staff had successfully pushed for changes to the project, including more landscaping, fewer parking spaces, smaller tenant buildings and a family-friendly "village green" area. City Councilman Don Rocha, who represents the area, also responded to neighbors' concerns by getting preliminary funding approved for a pedestrian bridge that will provide access over the nearby Guadalupe River.

Rocha praised the doggedness of the nearby neighborhood associations for their suggestions for improvements, calling their work "impressive." But he also gave a public nod to Gerry DeYoung, president of Ruth and Going, which is designing the site, for responding to the public's concerns, as well as the engineering firm's willingness to invest in San Jose "at this economic time."

"Not a lot of folks are putting up private dollars to make an investment as significant as this," said Rocha.

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San Jose City Council approves mega-retail center in Almaden area

Regulatory News:

Today, Klpierre (Paris:LI) and its partners, SNCF and Spie batignolles, inaugurate ST.LAZARE PARIS, the Saint-Lazare train stations brand new retail space. It will open to the public at the end of March 2012.

Ideally situated in the heart of one of the largest retail and business neighborhoods of the French capital, ST.LAZARE PARIS features 3 mid-sized units and around 80 shops, services and restaurants. Located in an exceptional architectural setting, the new complex covers 10 000 sq.m. of GLA1, totally integrated over the stations 3 levels (train platform, street and subway). ST.LAZARE PARIS also offers underground parking for 250 vehicles.

Investor, developer and manager of shopping centers, Klpierre is the artisan of this new retail space in the heart of Paris. After winning the competition among retail real estate specialists launched by SNCF in 1996 as part of the metamorphosis of the oldest train station in Paris, the Group will have invested almost 160 million euros in this project. In July 2008, it signed a 40-year temporary occupation permit (AOT - Autorisation dOccupation Temporaire) with SNCF, going into effect on the retail spaces opening date. Klpierre handled the leasing of the space and is managing it via its subsidiary Sgc.

The space was fully leased up several months before the doors were ready to open, attesting to its appeal for retailers, won over not just by design and conception factors but also by its exceptional potentialthe result of the combined effect of the commuter traffic flow, the catchment area and the location.

"Commuter hubs and structural elements of urban planning, train stations shopping centers have certain things in common. Saint-Lazare train station is truly exceptional, in terms of the number of visitors it attracts daily as well as its location in the heart of Paris, commented Laurent Morel, Chairman of the Klpierre Executive Board. "Thanks to the singular nature of the site and the architectural qualities of the historic edifice, we were able to create a magnificent retail space and design a retail mix made of brands that respond to different buying preferences of the thousands of visitors the station draws each day. ST.LAZARE PARIS features a retail offer that combines utilitycomposed of food shopping and serviceswith pleasure, including a culture and leisure retailer, and a broad range of retail names in ready-to-wear and beauty, he adds, concluding that "this is also the story of a successful partnership with SNCF and Spie batignolles, which spanned more than fifteen years and ensured the success of this complex and ambitious project.

An exceptional retail space in the heart of Paris

DGLa and AREP were the architects of the full reconfiguration of the station and the creation of its retail space. Spie SCGPM, a subsidiary of the Spie batignolles group, carried out the construction work on this unusual project, without ever closing the station, which continued to operate normally throughout.

Modern, comfortable, functional and opening out to the city, the new Saint-Lazare train station is more transparent, offering greater insight into its spaces and their functions and a more fluid traffic flow thanks to new vertical liaisons: 4 vast shafts house 20 escalators (compared with the 8 that existed previously) and allow the natural light to bathe the entire space, all the way down to the subway level.

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Klépierre inaugurates ST.LAZARE PARIS, the new Saint-Lazare train stations retail space: 80 retailers sharing an ...