WATERLOO | Goodwill Industries of Northeast Iowa has found another retail home in Waterloo, at least for the time being.

Goodwill announced Tuesday it will move into a 6,400-square-foot unit on the main level of Crossroads Center, opening April 9. The store will occupy Suite 148, adjacent to the soon-to-close JC Penney store.

It appears likely only a temporary solution to Goodwills quest to find a permanent store location in Waterloo, said David Boyd, president and CEO at Goodwill.

Boyd said his organization signed a 13-month lease with Crossroads. He was asked whether the store would remain there beyond that term.

Thats really dependent on if we can find another location, Boyd said.

The search goes on for a permanent stand-alone store building, where Goodwill can conduct retail, as well as other business operations, Boyd said.

That s our preference, he said.

The new location wont have accommodation for donation drop-offs, as the longtime former stand-alone store in Waterloo, at 4107 Hammond Ave., had.

All other local Goodwill locations accept donations between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. In addition, a new attended donations center is currently under construction at 3626 Kimball Ave. in Waterloo and is scheduled to open within the next 30 days, Boyd said.

Goodwill announced last summer it would be leaving that store and donation center for a new 10,000-square-foot building near the current BioLife and Best Buy locations in the Crossroads area.

Continued here:
Goodwill to open at Crossroads, but search still on for stand-alone building

These artists impressions show plans for a retail park in Speke which could create around 1,000 jobs.

Shoppers at The New Mersey Shopping Park were today asked for their views on proposals for a new cinema and six restaurants at the site.

The public exhibition continues tomorrow and allows residents to see the scheme and give feedback before a planning application is submitted.

Alun Hayes, a spokesman for development company British Land, told the ECHO the cinema and restaurants will be on the existing Currys site.

Currys will move to the vacant Comet unit. A map showing the plans for new development at New Mersey Retail Park

The existing retail space at the shopping park will be altered to provide smaller units for more shops.

Mr Hayes said: It will be more flexible space.

It is in response to what existing retailers and new retailers want. Theyve told us they want smaller units.

Mr Hayes said Cineworld had agreed to run the cinema but the occupants for the restaurant units and new shops would be agreed if and when planning approval is given.

If Liverpool council gives the proposals the go ahead British Land says up to 600 full and part time jobs in retail and another 390 construction jobs would be created.

Originally posted here:
Speke retail park development images show ambitious plans

Will Brick-and-Mortar Stores Still Dominate Sales Channel in Omnichannel Mix, or Does Industrial Property Stand to Reap Most Benefit from Trend?

All good news indeed for retail property investors.

However, the market shift brought on by mobile technology poses challenges for CRE investors. What are the best property types to target, in what locations, and how should they handle the properties they already own?

CoStar News examined a handful of investor strategies, including those from Deutsch Asset Wealth Management, Duke Realty, Menlo Equities, Monmouth Real Estate, UBS and USAA, to get a sense of the strategies among major investors.

That kind of growth has placed supply chain (i.e., industrial properties) firmly on the front line of retailers' growth strategies.

Individuals recently surveyed by the E&Y accounting firm seem to conclude that while brick-and-mortar is still the dominant sales channel for most retailers, the proportion is falling rapidly. In five years time, brick-and-mortar stores could account for just 81% of sales down from 93% this past year, E&Y projected.

And nearly 9 out of 10 consumer goods firms said they can no longer rely on traditional retail sales channels to drive growth.

So the key questions for investors sizing up the omnichannel strategy are: will brick-and-mortar stores still dominate as a sales channel in the omnichannel mix, or does industrial property stand to reap the most benefit from the trend?

Based on that question, here is how a variety of CRE investors are approaching opportunities presented by ecommerce growth.

Meanwhile, the firm said in its 2015 investment outlook, it expects retail will continue to be hampered by minimal income growth. Additionally, e-commerce is shifting some demand growth that would have previously gone to physical stores to the industrial sector. Furthermore, tenants are currently shifting toward smaller prototypical store plans, reducing demand for big-box properties.

The rest is here:
In New Omnichannel Era, Investors Wonder Whether Retail or Industrial is Better Play

An artist's impression of the Library and Woolworths development at Wynnum. Photo: Supplied

It's the $4.25 million public library that will cost the ratepayers nothing to build in the long-run, according to the Brisbane City Council.

Wynnum's new library, expected to be open by February 2016, will be built on the former Wynnum Central State School site. Construction begins this month.

The funding model for the library will see the city's so-called future fund, the City of Brisbane Investment Corporation, combine with Woolworths to deliver the project.

An artist's impression of the Library and Woolworths development at Wynnum. Photo: Supplied

The corporation will own the 3000 square metre retail space below the library, which will be leased by Woolworths on a long-term contract.

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The 2000 square metre library is three times bigger than Wynnum's existing library.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said he would support commercial-council funding models for future developments in the city.

Turning of the sod at the Woolworths and Library development at Wynnum. From left, De Luca Corporation General Manager Nic De Luca, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, Cr Krista Adams and Woolworths Queensland manager Michael Lange. Photo: supplied Photo: Ron Goodman

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Construction to begin on Wynnum's self-funded library

Around 1,000 jobs will be created in Speke if plans for a retail park there are approved.

Bosses at The New Mersey Shopping Park are asking for views on proposals for a new cinema and restaurants at the site as well as more retail space.

A public exhibition will be held this week to allow shoppers to see the scheme and give feedback before a planning application is submitted.

If Liverpool council approve the plans, development company British Land says up to 600 full and part time jobs in retail and another 390 construction jobs would be created.

* You can read all our stories about Speke here

David Bloy, planning manager for British Land, said: Prior to submitting a planning application we are committed to consulting with local stakeholders, our retailers, residents and shoppers.

We are holding a public exhibition displaying the proposals and inviting interested parties, including local residents, to tell us their views.

A leaflet to residents, from Mr Bloy, says: We are hoping to make a number of enhancements, which will: improve the look and feel of the shopping park through much needed upgrade works; create a new cinema and restaurants, bringing new leisure facilities to the area; provide additional flexible retail space, to give existing retailers the space they need, as well as meeting the requirements of new retailers and significantly improve the car park layout.

British Land, which has been involved in owning the park since 2005, says it is already in talks with Liverpool council on how best to target jobs for local people.

New Mersey Shopping Park is owned by Speke Unit Trust, which British Land has a large stake in. British Land is also the property advisor for the shopping park.

View post:
1,000 jobs may be created by Speke retail park plans

As retail nightmares go, road construction is a reliable bogeyman. Traffic snarls. Obstructed storefronts. Dust, noise and scaffolding keeping shoppers away.

But for some businesses on Chicago's historic Jewelers Row, Monday's closing of a stretch of Wabash Avenue for 18 months to construct a new "L" station may be more than a headache.

"I'm worried," said John Kurji, owner of Giovar Jewels, 21 N. Wabash Ave. "I'm considering just closing down."

Up and down the Wabash Avenue construction zone, jewelers and other businesses are bracing as work gets underway to replace two century-old stations with a modern "superstation" at Washington Street and Wabash Avenue a $75 million project many said will greatly benefit the area, provided they are around to enjoy it.

Some are optimistic that their reputations will keep customers coming. Others worry high-end customers accustomed to convenient valet service will avoid the drive downtown. And some smaller jewelers, such as Kurji, say this could be the final straw after what has already been a tough year.

Kurji, a third-generation jeweler who immigrated from Syria, started his business on a workbench crafting custom pieces and for the past seven years has been renting a prime booth space fronting the street in the Wabash Jewelers Mall. Business was good until recently.

Holiday sales at his shop were down 25 percent from the previous year, likely from competition from online jewelry retailers, he said. February, which typically gets a boost from Valentine's Day, was his worst ever, down 50 percent from a year earlier, which he blames in part on partial road closings on Wabash over the past month for electrical work.

"If that did this, what will happen when it's all shut down?" Kurji said.

The answer, of course, is no one knows.

Starting Monday, the block of Wabash between Madison and Washington streets closes to traffic for 18 months. Starting mid-April, the two blocks bracketing that stretch also will face strictures: Wabash will be reduced to one lane from Washington to Randolph and from Madison to Monroe streets.

See original here:
Jewelers fear Wabash Avenue work will pinch sales

Despite High Profile Bankruptcies and Mergers, Retailers Finding Ways to Open New Stores As Consumers Regain Buying Power

With more housing bust markets like Phoenix, Las Vegas, the Inland Empire and Sacramento continuing to gain jobs and economic strength, retailers absorbed about 13 million square feet of neighborhood and strip shopping center space in 2014 -- double the lev of demand of the previous year -- and retail vacancies have fallen below 10% for the first time since the recession in 2008.

Those were among the key findings presented at CoStar's State of the U.S. Retail Market 2014 Review and Forecast, presented by Suzanne Mulvee, director of U.S. research, retail; and Ryan McCullough, senior real estate economist, for CoStar Portfolio Strategy.

In particular, the analysts noted the long-awaited lift from recovering home prices and hiring seen at year-end for local neighborhood shopping centers and their small business and boutique tenants. While this retail center segment still has a lot of ground to make up relative to faster-recovering power centers and malls, demand is now beginning to ramp up, McCullough said.

"We've seen net absorption really come on strong and vacancies are starting to fall quite quickly" due to the limited amount of new retail construction, stated McCullough.

Meanwhile, the $43 billion of retail property sales transacted in 2014 surpassed the amount of retail property sold in 2007 to set a new rcord as the strongest year for transaction volume, with continued low interest rates lifting investor demand. Pricing for retail property has risen about 38% from its 2009 trough, according to the latest CoStar Commercial Repeat Sale Index (CCRSI). Also, the average sale price per square foot paid for retail is rising the fastest among the six top U.S. metros, especially for luxury shopping properties in New York City, Southern California and Miami.

Both investor and tenant demand for retail property, which has wobbled up and down for several years, have now tiered-up steadily over the last several quarters. Despite the negative headlines on store closures by Radio Shack and other national chains, "retailers are finding a way to open new stores, and demand is not only positive, it's rising," Mulvee points out.

Job growth and wage gains, combined with the drop in gasoline prices, continue to provide a boost for consumers, retailers and landlords alike across the country. Sustained $2-a-gallon gasoline could boost consumption and lift retail sales by as much as 5%, according to a CoStar Portfolio Strategy analysis of U.S. Energy Information Administration data.

Nationally for all retail property, the vacancy rate fell another 20 basis points to 6.3% to close 2014 and net absorption of shopping space totaled 81 million for the year, both are the strongest readings since 2008.

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Retail Property Market Gets Boost from Housing Recovery, Strenthening Local Economies

By Ian Bauer, Milpitas Post

Plans for an enclosed Asian-themed mall and hotel to be built on a portion of the partly-vacant McCarthy Ranch Marketplace have barely moved forward since the project was first approved by the city more than a year ago.

In February 2014, a prior Milpitas City Council approved a conditional-use permit, general plan amendments and a final environmental impact report related to Canadian developer TMS McCarthy Inc.'s $100-million Pacific Mall Silicon Valley project, to be located from 11 to 111 Ranch Drive.

The council's approval allowed for the conversion of the existing 25.1-acre retail site -- plagued with shuttered businesses near the intersection of McCarthy Boulevard and Ranch Drive -- and granted demolition of buildings from the old Borders Books and Music (currently Furniture City Plus) northward to the Dollar Tree store.

The action also allowed construction of 284,587 square feet of retail space for individual sellers of boutique clothing, electronic goods and other merchandise in a two-level mall, a 240-room hotel and an 835-stall underground parking garage.

The total net increase in floor area is 304,726 square feet, including the hotel space.

The project will be sold to individual owners as condominium units for small business retail and commercial space for up to 450 stores (with tenant spaces ranging in size from 143 square feet to 2,766 square feet). The site would also feature a gaming arcade, a community performance stage and one large food court.

According to the developer, construction on the project is supposed to begin this year. The mall's first full year of operation was expected to occur by 2017.

But since the council's approval last year no major advances have occurred.

"We have been communicating with the Pacific Mall developer," Milpitas Planning and Neighborhood Services Director Steve McHarris this week. "They are working on minor building modifications to their plans, and have been completing relocation and lease arrangements with their existing tenants on their property which has required more time on their end."

See the original post here:
Approved Asian mall-hotel in Milpitas next needs building permits

By Laura Barnhardt Cech March 6 at 11:01 AM

W. Thomas Curtis could be considered a pioneer.

Curtis was among the first residents of King Farm, in 1999, when there were still acres of vacant fields left from a closed dairy farm.

I remember all the dust, says Curtis, a financial planner. It was being kicked up by the all the construction crews. Wed have to clean the front porch almost every day.

From its dusty, agrarian beginnings, the planned 430-acre community now has 3,200 single-family houses, townhouses, condominiums and apartments, with about 8,000 residents. In addition to 3million square feet of office space and a Sheraton hotel, there is also 125,000 square feet of retail space in the Village Square.

The whole area has matured, Curtis says. Even the little twigs planted during construction are now trees.

Diverse community: Construction in the planned, mixed-use community began in 1997, the year after it was annexed into the city of Rockville.

The community has a civic board called the King Farm Citizens Assembly, and the Board of Trustees manages the community with a management staff employed by the Assembly. An activities director helps organize community events, including movies on the lawn in the summer, concerts and seasonal festivals.

Theres something for everyone, says Gail Sherman, president of the King Farm Citizens Assembly.

Residents like the mix of housing types, too, Sherman says.

See the original post:
Diverse community rises from agrarian past at Rockvilles King Farm

VOL. 8 | NO. 11 | Saturday, March 07, 2015

Retail development in the Memphis area is booming in what construction and retail officials describe as the most active period for retail construction since the recession, with everything from a massive outlet mall in Southaven to grocery stores and smaller, traditional retail centers going up.

Were seeing a lot of new retail construction and I think its just another sign of the economy getting stronger in general and of the dollars being spent, said Rusty Linkous, president of Linkous Construction Co. Retail is pretty strong right now.

The list of projects under construction now or in the pipeline for 2015 is extensive.

Crown Centre LLC, an affiliate of Fogelman Investment Co., is developing a high-end, 29,373-square-foot retail center at 6450 Poplar Ave., part of a wave of new retail development sweeping across the Memphis area.

(The Shopping Center Group)

Tanger Factory Outlets Inc. and Poag Shopping Centers will break ground March 13 on a 300,000-square-foot destination outlet mall in Southaven. A company affiliated with Robert F. Fogelman II has begun construction of a 29,000-square-foot retail center at 6450 Poplar Ave. in East Memphis. Construction of a new 50,000-square-foot Kroger on Union Avenue in Midtown is underway.

Work on the Highland Row development near the University of Memphis, which was sidelined by the recession and now includes 32,000 square feet of retail space, will begin this year. The Shops of Saddle Creek is undergoing a renovation and 20,000-square-foot expansion. Ikea is expected to begin construction this year on its store near Interstate 40 and Germantown Parkway. In Olive Branch, Michael Lightman Realty Co. has launched a 31,000-square-foot retail center on Goodman Road.

This is the longest list Ive seen in a few years, said Frank Dyer III of Loeb Realty Group.

The Memphis area is taking part in a broader national rebound in retail construction. Nearly 50 million square feet of retail space was delivered in the U.S. in 2014, the largest amount of retail development and redevelopment since 2010, according to research from Jones Lang LaSalle.

Original post:
Wave of New Retail Construction Boosts Contractors