By George C. Ford, The Gazette

With the closing of Westdale Mall and construction of new commercial centers, the retail picture is changing in southwest Cedar Rapids,

Discount Tire, a national tire and wheel retailer, is expanding its Iowa presence with the construction of a 6,947-square-foot store at 3050 Wiley Blvd. SW on the perimeter of Wiley Point, which anchored by an 81,000-square-foot Kohls.

Rob Wise, regional vice president for Discount Tire, said the store will employ about 10 people with a mix of full- and part-time employees. Wise said the store is projected to open around Sept. 1, depending on various conditions and schedules.

The growth of Cedar Rapids among residents and businesses has made it a perfect fit for Discount Tire, Wise said.

The privately-owned Scottsdale, Ariz., company sells the Goodyear, Michelin, Bridgestone, Yokohama, Kumho, BFGoodrich, Pirelli, Hankook, Falken, Fisk and GT Radial brands. Founded in 1960, Discount Tire has grown to more than 870 stores in 28 states.

Discount Tire opened a store last fall in the former Sears Auto space at Coral Ridge Mall. It previously opened two stores in Davenport.

Wise said Iowans should expect to see additional Discount Tire locations in coming years.

Contractors are preparing a 5,800-square-foot space in Edgewood Station at 2320 Edgewood Rd. SW for Elevate, formerly City Looks at Westdale Mall. The salon and spa, which will close April 26 and plans to open April 29 at its new location, was granted a reprieve when the mall doors were locked on March 31.

Gerry Ambrose, co-owner and developer of Edgewood Station, said a lease has been finalized with General Nutrition Center, a former Westdale tenant, for the remaining space in Edgewood Station.

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Retail changes coming in Cedar Rapids

Macro Economy Has Been Non-Conducive For The Retail Sector

Over the last 6-8 quarters, the retail sector in India has been subject to immense pressures from a slowing economy, stagnancy in jobs and incomes, and lack of stimulus from government policies. More recently, Indias quarterly GDP consistently fell short of the 5.0% y/y growth mark, which was the average growth recorded for the last financial year FY2012-13. For FY2013-14, the economic growth rate is expected to come in at less than that observed in the previous year.

Private consumption expenditure, which is a critical component accounting for over 60% of Indias GDP, saw a growth slump, recording not more than 3.0% y/y growth in the recent four quarters. Lack of confidence among the consuming class due to compromised job prospects and income growth has led a rising proportion of income going towards secure savings rather than consumption spending. High inflation and borrowing rates further derailed hopes of an early recovery. Moderated consumption spending and high inflation has had a direct impact on the retail sector, whose growth momentum has been falling sharply.

Lack Of Policy Stimulus & Demand-Centric Mall Development

Mall space absorption continued to remain weak in 2013 from the low levels observed in 2012 across the leading seven cities of India. Factors that were responsible were a poor policy framework and the lack of new mall construction. In the last 6-8 quarters, retail has been subject to difficulties on the policy front, as progress on retail sector FDI hung in the balance. While the ruling government was in favour of liberal reforms in FDI policy, stiff opposition from other political parties gave foreign retailers reason to remain cautious. Also, with the upcoming elections threatening to overthrow the current ruling alliance, withholding investment decisions retailers was probably the best option available to retailers at this time.

While the external environment plays a huge role in demand for retail space, supply is an important consideration too. Premium fashion brands that enter India have had difficulties in finding quality mall space. Major Tier-I cities of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore witnessed a fall in supply of quality malls as developers responded to the current situation by holding on to project completions. Retailers responded by either looking for spaces in quality high streets or by delaying entry completely.

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JLL: Retail Real Estate Awaiting An Upswing

500,000 sqm of retail space in the pipeline, mainly in eastern Poland - JLL

Some 550,000 sqm of retail space is currently under construction, 87 percent of which within 20 new shopping centers and 8 mall expansions, a recent JLL report said. Another 11 percent of retail space currently in the pipeline corresponds to retail parks and 2 percent to one outlet center under construction.

Small and medium-sized malls constitute 98 percent of all retail space under construction. Some of the biggest projects being built include Sukcesja in d (45,000 sqm), Galeria Warmiska in Olsztyn (41,500 sqm) and Tarasy Zamkowe in Lublin (38,000 sqm).

Most of the new stock will be delivered in eastern and north-eastern voivodships and in the dzkie voivodship, as well as in small cities with population below 100,000.

Polands retail map is developing increasingly evenly, with locations that were previously less active expanding their offer, said Anna Wysocka, head of retail agency at JLL.

In Q1 2014 three new shopping malls were completed, totaling 140,500 sqm: Atrium Felicity on Lublin, Galeria Amber in Kalisz and Galeria Siedlce in Siedlce. Altogether Polands shopping malls feature 8.6 million sqm of retail space.

Shopping mall saturation level has reached 224 sqm per 1,000 people, which is above European average of 191 sqm per 1,000 people.

Polish retail market also has 1.3 million sqm in retail parks, 1.87 million sqm in stand-alone schemes and 163,000 sqm within outlet centers.

The segment that is seeing the most activity is convenience, that is small schemes both shopping centers and retail parks with a balanced offer, mainly being built in smaller cities, with unsaturated and promising markets. This trend is supported by the fact that 42 percent of shopping malls and 87 percent of retail parks currently under construction are located in cities with population below 100,000, Wysocka added.

Vacancy stood at 3.2 percent at the end of 2013, 0.6 percentage point higher than a year earlier.

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500,000 sqm of retail space in the pipeline, mainly in eastern Poland - JLL

Changing Medical Economics Prompting Caregivers to Offer Services Where Patients Shop

Were seeing a lot of strip centers being converted to medical offices of various sizes, if a dollar store or grovery store goes out," Robert Moon, vice president, brokerage services, for Farmington Hills, MI-based Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions, tells CoStar News. "New MOBs can cost upwards of $200 a foot to development -- those are big numbers. Existing space at a retail center will be substantrially less than that, so theres a big incentive to take that space rather than building from the ground up."

Stores left vacant by the demise of big-box retailers and struggling strip centers are turning out to be reasonably priced options for many health care facilities which are increasingly moving away from the centralized service delivery model centered on a traditional hospital campus and trending toward mixed-use properties where medical office buildings (MOBs) and retail stores and restaurants co-exist, according to Laura Lee Garrett, a partner with Hirschler Fleischer in Richmond, VA, and member of the firms real estate and retail practice group.

One of the latest examples of that trend was last months announced joint venture between Cornerstone Development Partners and Stein Investment Group to develop a $65 million mixed-use complex on four parcels that include a blighted strip center property at Collier and Peachtree Road in Atlanta.

The Cornerstone Medical Center will consist of 145,000 square feet of medical office space across from Piedmont Hospital and 16,000 square feet of street level retail and restaurants. Chick-fil-A has already agreed to a lease on the ground floor of the seven story building slated to break ground this summer and be completed in 2015.

"The catalyst for this project was the medical community's current demand for efficient, 21st century medical space. There's very little medical office space left in the area immediately surrounding Piedmont Hospital," said Jason Linscott, principal at Stein Investment Group.

Retail properties increasingly are being repurposed for medical uses as providers look to move closer to patients and reduce costs by providing outpatient services in non-acute settings, said Colliers National Office Research Manager Andrea Cross, who authored the global brokerage firm's recent 2014 outlook for medical office space.

"High retail vacancy, particularly in the suburbs, due to overbuilding prior to the recession and housing crisis, and increasing online retail sales have created opportunities for health care tenants," Cross said.

Well-located big box properties in the 20,000-to-50,000 square-foot range with ample parking, such as those occupied by defunct tenants like Borders, Circuit City and Linens n Things, have been an especially popular draw for many medical tenants.

In one such project, construction will start this spring on a conversion project by St. John Health System to turn a 20,000-square-foot former Borders bookstore in Grosse Pointe, MI, into medical office and retail space. The medical office will occupy one end of a large building, which was also vacated by Ace Hardware.

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Just What the Doctor Ordered: New 'Medtail Tenants Filling Vacant Shopping Center Space

Four-story building with retail space set for corner of Carlisle and Oxford streets.

by Marcus McCarthy 08 April 2014

The former West Pagoda Chinese takeout on the corner of Carlisle and Oxford streets was torn down during spring break to make way for a four story apartment complex with retail space.

The building will include 12 apartments and a balcony on the fourth floor with the plans showing the building rising roughly 10 feet taller than neighboring buildings, according to the City of Philadelphia. Additionally, the first floor is to be retail space.

On Aug. 21, 2013, an appeal by Michael Mattioni, a local real estate, estate planning, corporate and taxation lawyer, was approved by the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Appeals in order to construct the building, which is planned to be much taller than the one floor West Pagoda building that preceded it.

The property was bought in December for $250,000 by J.B. Richards Construction, LLC, a company with offices in Northeast Philadelphia, according to property records. The propertys 2013 estimated market value, prior to the new construction, was $30,000.

The owner of the property is Huang Hui Qiu and the licensed contractor is CRP Builders 2 LLC, according to a building permit posted at the construction site and approved by the Department of Licenses and Inspections on March 13.

Neither Qiu nor the overseeing inspector from Philadelphia L&I returned multiple calls for comment.

The architecture firm that designed the building is Harman Deutsch, which has offices located on the 600 block of 12th street.

Additionally, an attached structure is planned to be constructed adjacent to the building. This attached structure will be three stories with apartments in each of the floors including the basement, according to the City of Philadelphia website.

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Housing complex planned for West Pagoda

Geddes, N.Y. The new building going up at the Western Lights Plaza on Onondaga Boulevard will be home to a Mavis Discount Tire location.

The Mavis store should open in May or June, said Jim Kempner, a principal at The Kempner Corp., which owns Western Lights.

The new building, at more than 5,000 square feet, is under construction toward the back of plaza, adjacent to Little Caesars.

That section of the plaza also has Price Chopper. Other stores nearby include Chat Wireless and Sally Beauty.

Mavis has stores throughout New York, including a number of locations in the Syracuse area. It acquired the Cole Muffler chain six years ago.

The company has clashed with the town of DeWitt over some planned renovations to a Cole location on Erie Boulevard.

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Construction underway at Western Lights Plaza on new retail space

Retail space to exceed 13 million sqm by end-2015 - JLL

Total retail space will increase by 12 percent by the end of 2015, reaching some 13.2 million sqm, according to data by JLL. The majority of the growth will be seen in Polands eastern regions.

Currently 44 percent of the existing space is located in western and northwestern regions of the country, while another 17 percent is located in the center (Mazowieckie and dzkie voivodships), the report reads.

The most rapid increase in retail space (by 27 percent) is expected is the countrys eastern voivodships, which still has far less retail space than Polands western voivodships. Several large shopping malls have either been completed recently, including Atrium Felicity in Lublin opened in March, or are under construction. Three outlet centers (two in Biaystok and one Lublin) are also in the pipeline.

The increase in retail space will likely be followed by a surge in demand for warehouse space, which is currently scarce in the region (92 percent of all warehouse space is located within five major hubs: Warsaw, Silesia, Central Poland, Pozna and Krakw).

With 24 percent share in demand for warehouse space over the past five years, retail networks are the second largest group of warehouse space tenants in Poland, after logistics operators, said Tomasz Mika, head of industrial agency, at JLLs Poland office.

Poland A.M.

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Retail space to exceed 13 million sqm by end-2015 - JLL

Lynchburg, VA - 43 acres is slated to be turned into a wedding and event venue, commercial, residential, and retail space.

A plot right off Graves Mill Road is the proposed site. The development is slated to include 165,000 square feet of commercial space, 35 residential apartments, as well as a business and technology park.

It all got the green light Tuesday night from a unanimous Lynchburg City Council, first approving rezoning the property and then a conditional use permit to build on it.

The type of construction the city calls a "cluster commercial development" The developers say the space will lend itself to people being able to live, work, and play all within the same area.

Adjacent to this development is a state and nationally designated historic property; The Rosedale Mansion, and a pre-revolutionary war Grist Mill. A part of the agreement aims to keep those properties intact, and develop them into an event venue.

The owners of the Bedford Columns stepped in to take on that responsibility. Vickie Runk of Runk and Pratt is the property owner and shared her vision for the property.

"The mill is already refurbished inside, so we're ready to go inside. It's going to be the outside landscaping that starts so we can start holding events in the mill and the bottom part next to the creek bed as soon as the fall" she said.

Developers of the Graves Mill development are hoping to have a convenience and grocery store, along with commercial and retail space, with a business park in the rear of the property. They're hoping to break ground in less than a year.

"We would like to do something that has more of a historic feel or is done something a little different than a typical strip shopping center" said Bryant Hare, one of the project's developers.

The city planning commission did not recommend approval of this project to city council. But council said they ultimately disagreed with that recommendation.

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Lynchburg Council Approves New 43 Acre Development Off Graves Mill Road

JOHN SULLIVAN

Three construction companies will become the construction team for the new arena for the Detroit Red Wings. It will be built on a site near Woodward Avenue and I-75.

The new $450 million arena for the Detroit Red Wings will be built by a consortium of three construction companies that was submitted for approval today by the citys Downtown Development Authority.

Newly formed Barton Malow-Hunt-White, organized as the projects general contractor, was submitted today to the DDA by arena developer Olympia Development of Michigan, which issued a statement today.

The authority is scheduled to vote on the submission when it meets at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

The three companies are Southfield-based Barton Malow Co., Detroit-based White Construction and Indianapolis-based Hunt Construction Group.

Details about the consortiums structure and information about financing were not disclosed.

Barton Malow and White were involved in construction of Comerica Park and Ford Field. White recently was hired as a subcontractor for the $137 million private-public M-1 Rail streetcar project along Woodward Avenue.

Hunt Construction has worked on major sports venues such as the Amway Center for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association, Barclays Center for the NBAs Brooklyn Nets and New York Islanders of the National Hockey League and Consol Energy Center for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL.

The DDA will own the 18,000-seat event center, to be built by 2017 west of Woodward at I-75 in Detroit.

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Three construction companies would become team that builds new Red Wings arena

New proposal would replace Norris homes with new housing, retail and park space.

by Patrick McCarthy 08 April 2014

A $30 million grant that would allow for the removal and redevelopment of a North Central Philadelphia public-housing community located near Main Campus may be in the works for the City of Philadelphia.

The Norris Apartments, which contain 147 low-income housing units between Berks and Norris streets east of Main Campus, are the subject of a proposal to be torn down and replaced with 297 mixed income Gold-LEED certified homes, a 10,000 square-foot workforce development center, an 8,000 square-foot community center, 2,000 square feet of commercial retail space, 75 underground parking spaces and a new one-acre community park.

The proposal is an extension of the $30 million CHOICE Neighborhood Improvement Grant from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development that Philadelphia is one of six finalists for.

Sen. Bob Casey made the announcement under the Temple Regional Rail station abutting the Norris Apartments last week, saying that the $30 million grant would create 600 construction and 300 permanent jobs and would leverage an additional $125 million in funding toward transformative redevelopment in North Central Philadelphia.

The North Central redevelopment plan is backed by the Philadelphia Housing Authority, the citys Office of Housing and Community Development and Temple, which will all be playing key roles if Philadelphia wins the five-year grant.

Temples has promised $1.2 million toward neighborhood improvement programs set to be dispersed during a period of five years and contingent upon receipt of the $30 million grant. If Philadelphia receives the grant, Temple will be partnering with EducationWorks to provide high school training programs that would offer afterschool tutoring, college and career training as well as counseling to residents in the newly built homes. Temple would also be creating a new position of CHOICE neighborhoods coordinator.

As the lead education partner were really responsible for coordinating the activities of all the partners and that includes the school district, Philadelphia Health Management Corporation and the United Way who are focused on helping child care centers improve their capacity, Assistant Vice President of Community Relations and Economic Development Beverly Coleman said. Coordination is on a large part of the services that we would provide. We also work closely with the school district to track the progress of youth from Norris homes.

The plan was originally developed by Asociacion de Puertorriquenos en Marcha, a Latino-based community nonprofit that has been in the North Central Philadelphia community for 45 years.

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Citys bid for grant calls for overhaul of Norris homes