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Articles by Al Urbanski
The best rated Walmarts in America
SEO Backlinks — which provides search engine optimization data to stories run in publications such as Forbes, The Guardian and Inc.— polled consumers for reviews on 4,550 Walmart stores, asking for ratings of one to five stars. Neighborhood Market on Bryan Road in Mission, Texas, turned out to be the brand’s most wonderful market with a rating of 4.50.
The best — and worst — rated Walmarts in America
SEO Backlinks — which provides search engine optimization data to stories run in publications such as Forbes, The Guardian and Inc.— polled consumers for reviews on 4,550 Walmart stores, asking for ratings of one to five stars. Neighborhood Market on Bryan Road in Mission, Texas, turned out to be the brand’s most wonderful market with a rating of 4.50.
New management and leasing teams named at Houston’s luxe River Oaks District
River Oaks is owned by Houston-based Fertitta Entertainment. Houston’s River Oaks District, the primary luxury shopping destination in the Houston metro, is going in a different direction with new third-party management teams. Odyssey Retail Advisors will oversee all retail leasing strategies and execution at the center and Hines will assume property management responsibilities, overseeing day-to-day operations, tenant relations, and the overall guest experience.
Birmingham’s premier retail destination has a new owner
Federal aims to broaden its central property zone to Alabama with its acquisition of The Summit. Alabama’s most star-studded retail center — an 870,000-sq.-ft. open-air property whose brands include Apple, Nordstrom Rack, Trader Joes, West Elm, and P.F. Chang’s — has been acquired by Federal Realty for $508 million.
5Qs for KC Bills on the masterminding of today’s grocery-anchored centers
Bills: "We're seeing an uptick in wellness and boutique fitness concepts." Twenty years ago, KC Bills (no periods on the K or C) got to know grocery-anchored shopping centers at one of the best places in the nation to do so — Phillips Edison & Company, which owns and operates more than 350 centers nationwide.
115 shopping centers acquired for $2.34 billion
Brixmor's Arboretum Village in Dallas Brixmor Property Group and Everview Partners have entered into definitive agreements to acquire Slate Grocery for $2.34 billion. Under the terms of the transaction and joint venture agreements, Brixmor will acquire a portfolio of 23 grocery-anchored centers totaling three million square feet of space for $636 million.
JLL selected to lead retail leasing for new ski village in Utah
The East Village will contain 140 mountain homes and 50 townhomes. (Rending courtesy of JLL) JLL’s boutique retail leasing platform, 10Twelve, has been selected to curate a retail and restaurant lineup for a 180,000-sq.-ft. center to be constructed at the Deer Valley ski resort outside of Salt Lake City. JLL holds that the project will be the first new alpine village built in North America in more than 40 years.
JLL tapped to handle leasing at one of Kansas City’s top lifestyle centers
Zona Rosa resides in Kansas City's fast-growing Northland submarket. JLL has announced that it has been chosen to manage retail leasing at Zona Rosa, a 768,000-sq.-ft. lifestyle center in Kansas City’s Northland submarket recently acquired by CTO Growth Realty.
DLC sells million-square-foot center in Chicagoland
Randurst Village sits six miles north of O'Hare Airport Over the last three years, developer DLC Management Corp. has invested billions of dollars in property acquisitions, widening its outdoor center portfolio on a nationwide basis. This week the company divested one of those premier properties. Newmark this week announced the sale of DLC’s Randhurst Village, a 930,000-sq.-ft. open-air center in Mount Prospect, Ill., six miles north of O’Hare Airport for the price of $95 million.
Pacific Retail acquires Pacific View Mall
Pacific View mall offers sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and Pierpont Bay. Pacific Retail Capital Partners has joined with Conversant Capital Partners to purchase the Pacific View Mall, an 884,000-sq.-ft. property in Ventura, Calif., that is anchored by Target, Macy’s and JCPenney. Located at the intersection of Highway 101 and Highway 126, the mall has served as Ventura’s premier shopping and dining destination since opened in 1964.
Trademark to begin construction on center outside Houston
Dunham Pointe will be anchored by Whole Foods Market. Trademark Property Company and its partner MetLife Investment Management have secured financing to begin the construction of Dunham Pointe, a retail and restaurant district in Cypress, Texas, about 30 miles north of Houston off U.S. Route 290. The 202,000-sq.-ft.
SoCal center sells for $157 million
New owners plan to add tenants that are underrepresented in Chino HIlls. Stockdale Capital Partners, together with funds managed by Hamilton Lane, has acquired The Shoppes at Chino Hills, a 378,140-square-foot open-air lifestyle center in the Southern California community of Chino Hills in San Bernadino County, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.
Cullinan breaks ground for retail space at Rock Run Collection in Chicagoland
Senator Dick Durbin and Diane Cullinan Oberhelman get the tractors rolling. This week, Cullinan Properties’ majestic Rock Run Collection mixed-use project came alive at a groundbreaking ceremony for the retail zones in the 310-acre super-regional mixed-use center, located at the intersection of Interstates 80 and 55 in Joliet, Ill.
Posh tenants sought for new condo tower in Miami Beach
NoBe Parc is scheduled to open in late 2028. NoBe Parc Miami Beach, an under-construction, 15-story, 232-residence development from Robert Finvarb Companies in North Beach, has launched leasing efforts for six ground-floor retail spaces of luxury retail in a neighborhood where listings for condos average $1,029 per square foot. Inhouse Commercial has been appointed to lead the leasing effort of 11,000-plus square feet of retail across six spaces.
Growing Chicago suburb lands a Jewel-Osco
St. John's new Jewel-Osco covers 70,000 square feet. The website of St. John, Ind., just 25 miles southeast of Chicago, close to the shores of Lake Michigan, bills itself as a nest of quiet neighborhoods, well-equipped parks, and large retail stores. Next week it will unveil one its biggest retail gems to date. Agen Development Group and DeMao Retail have finished construction of a 70,088-sq.-ft. Jewel-Osco grocery store at 9548 Wicker Ave on a site that had been empty for more than a decade.
New store construction in L.A. this year is the lowest in decades
Open space is scarce in downtown L.A. Los Angeles has seen multi-tenant space vacancy decline by 50 basis points to 7.3% in June, with several retailers moving into recently vacated big boxes. And more than 600 lease commitments were signed across neighborhood and strip centers in the first half of 2026. Open space is scarce downtown, however, and the situation promises to remain the same for some time to come. Retail inventory has expanded by just 162,000 square feet by June.
5Qs for Dwayne Furukawa on Easton Town Center’s in-house construction company
Furukawa: “We have an advantage over other builders because we are familiar with all the ins and outs of the Easton infrastructure.” Chain Store Age’s No. 1 Retail Center Experience of 2026, Easton Town Center, is an ever-changing retail organism. “We are always contemplating the best adjacencies for our tenants,” notes Spencer Jordan, the senior VP of leasing of Steiner + Associates, operator of the property, which includes 1.9 million-sq.-ft. of retail.
Big V makes its first investment offering to accredited investors
With 17 million annual visitors, Rim is Texas's most highly trafficked retail destination. Big V Property Group has announced that it is “democratizing” retail real estate with its first investment opportunity for accredited investors in one of its largest centers. The Charlotte, N.C., developer has launched a $2.5 million offering for pre-qualified investors in its Rim mixed-use district in San Antonio.
Trademark acquires neighborhood center in Austin
Oak Hill Plaza tenants include Pluckers, Wells Fargo, AutoZone,and The Picklr. The Fort Worth-based Trademark Property Company — a retail and mixed-use investor, developer, and operator — announced its purchase of Oak Hill Plaza in Austin in partnership with Cohen & Steers, a global investment manager.
A&G Real Estate director cops two awards
Graiser is in her eighth year as a dealmaker for A&G. An eight-year veteran of mergers and acquisitions at A&G Real Estate Partners has been honored with two awards for her dealmaking this year. Alexandra Graiser, a senior managing director at the New York-based real estate advisory firm — The M&A Advisor’s 17th Annual Emerging Leaders Award and Global M&A Network’s Americas Rising Star Dealmaker Award.
L.A.’s Century City center hosts a celebration of ‘circular fashion’
Circular fashionistas will have their day (two days, actually) at Century City's "Reloved Market." Not very long ago, “circular fashion” meant hoop earrings. Not anymore. Today the phrase is a movement in which clothing, shoes, and accessories can be used and circulated for as long as possible and — ideally — be recycled or returned to nature. Westfield Century City in Los Angeles will bring more notoriety to circular fashion with a two-day event celebration second-hand style.
Target, Home Depot and H-E-B open at new center outside of Dallas
Village at Gateway will soon welcome Dick's, Luna Grill, America's Best and Livewell. The “Antique Capital of Texas” has quickly catapulted itself into a prime player in the future of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro. Over the past decade, the population of Forney, Texas, more than doubled to a total of 40,000 residents, and this year a 750,000-sq.-ft. open-air center anchored by Target, Home Depot, H-E-B and BJ’s Wholesale has opened to cater to them.
New fitness concept debuts in Oklahoma City
Oak developer Ryan McNeill: "Oak will deliver an entirely new wellness offering to Oklahoma City." The Rouge Method (aka Rouge) — a fitness concept that combines Pilates, strength, and flow classes in an infrared-heated studio — will introduce its unique routines at Oak, the high-end mixed-use center that opened just two years ago in Oklahoma City.
Pyramid completes purchase of Providence Place
Several new uses will be implemented at Providence Place, says Pyramid. The most-visited shopping center in the state of Rhode Island is now back in the hands of the developer that opened it in the 1990s. Syracuse-based Pyramid Management Group, in partnership with Paolino Properties and DW Partners, has closed on the purchase of Providence Place, the 1.4 million-sq.-ft. retail centerpiece of the state’s capital and its largest mall.
Commission approves Georgia’s North Point Mall renovation
Will this be the arena that brings the NHL back to Atlanta? Over the past 45 years, Atlanta watched two NHL franchises depart. In 1980, the Atlanta Flames left and set up shop in Calgary. The Atlanta Thrashers brought top-level hockey back to Georgia in 1999 for just a dozen years before True North Sports & Entertainment bought the franchise and remade it as the Winnipeg Jets. Will world class hockey skate back into Georgia once again? Apparently so.
North Point Mall site makes a play for an NHL team
Jamestown is poised to imbue the project with a dense mix of uses. Since it opened as one of the nation’s largest malls in 1993, North Point Mall in Alpharetta, Ga. has rarely stood still. Anchors came and went on a regular basis. In 2014, Apple closed its store at North Point and moved across town to the new Avalon mixed-use development.
5Qs for LMC’s Sid Singer on how to rejuvenate an old center
Singer: "We introduced a lot of new uses in the restaurant lineup." Last year, a 55-year-old open-air center on New Jersey’s busy Route 22 retail corridor debuted a major refresh that made room for a new 72,000-sq.-ft. ShopRite, an enlarged 27,000-sq.-ft. Marshalls, and a host of new tenants that included Taco Bell, Honeygrow, and a Back Nine Golf center whose simulator swing bays stay open all day long.
Closed Florida Bucca di Beppo site will emerge as a center
Park Maitland Square looks toward a fall 2026 opening. United Capital, a Florida-based real estate owner-operator, has secured $4 million in construction financing from United Community Bank for the redevelopment of what will be called Park Maitland Square, a former Buca di Beppo property. United Capital has secured $4 million in construction financing from United Community Bank to turn the site into a modern retail destination designed to serve the Winter Park-Maitland community.
2026 Top 10 Retail Center Experiences: No. 1 — Easton Town Center
Easton Town Center has continued to reinvent itself since it opened its doors in 1999. (Image courtesy of Steiner + Associates) (Chain Store Age ranks the most innovative shopping center experiences each year. We will be counting down the top 10 until No. 1 is revealed.) This is the fourth time that Easton Town Center has headed Chain Store Age’s "Top 10 Retail Center Experiences” list since it debuted in 2018, and the first sentence on the center’s 2026 nomination form deftly summed up why...
2026 Top 10 Retail Center Experiences: No. 2 — Crocker Park
Crocker Park Living, with more than 500 apartments and townhomes, is fully integrated into the property. (Image courtesy of Stark Enterprises) (Chain Store Age ranks the most innovative shopping center experiences each year.
2026 Top 10 Retail Center Experiences: No. 3 — Tuscan Village
Tuscan Village's tenants include Williams Sonoma, Nike, L.L.Bean, Pottery Barn and more. (Image courtesy of Tuscan Village) The biggest, boldest and best-tenanted shopping center in the Boston metro sits just across Massachusetts’ northern border in New Hampshire, 35 miles from downtown.
2026 Top 10 Retail Center Experiences: No. 4 — American Dream
Events are a key part of American Dream's draw for consumers. (Image courtesy of American Dream) What much bigger promotional break could an already formidable piece of retail real estate get than having the FIFA World Cup soccer final played in its backyard? Spain’s capture of its second World Cup at New York/New Jersey Stadium (nee MetLife Stadium; the insurance company wasn’t a World Cup sponsor) sits just a bicycle kick across the parking lot from Triple Five’s Meadowlands megamall.
2026 Top 10 Retail Center Experiences: No. 6 — Blue Star Shopping Center
“Our vision for the makeover of Blue Star was to create a complementary mix," said Sid Singer, VP of leasing at LMC. (Image courtesy of LMC) Not every great retail experience requires 3 million square feet, an indoor ski slope or a theme park. Blue Star’s distinction is different. It is one of the nation’s clearest examples of how a thoughtfully merchandised, open-air suburban center can generate amplified visitations typically associated with much larger destinations.
CBRE: Inflation notwithstanding, retail real estate is positioned for growth
Rents are already at their peak levels in Sun Belt markets. Despite an inflation rate remaining above 4% that will render Federal Funds Rate cuts unlikely for the rest of the year, continued consumer spending has kept commercial real estate resilient, reports CBRE in its 2026 Midyear Review. “The U.S. real estate market has withstood economic and geopolitical headwinds this year and is well positioned for further growth,” said Henry Chin, CBRE’s global head of research.
2026 Top 10 Retail Center Experiences: No. 7 Eastwood Mall
Eastwood Mall houses 7 17 Credit Union Field, home of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. (Image courtesy of Cafaro Properties) (Chain Store Age ranks the most innovative shopping center experiences each year. We will be counting down the top 10 until No. 1 is revealed.) It holds more than 200 retailers, restaurants and entertainment venues—the largest selection of consumer offerings in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania.
2026 Top 10 Retail Center Experiences: No. 8 Market Street - The Woodlands
“Market Street today is the Central Park and heart-and-soul for the entire community,” said Trademark CEO Terry Montesi. (Image courtesy of Trademark) (Chain Store Age ranks the most innovative shopping center experiences each year.
2026 Top 10 Retail Center Experiences: No. 9 Park West Village
Park West Village serves shoppers in North Carolina’s Research Triangle. (Image courtesy of Casto) A modern-day indication of the importance of certain retail centers is scoring the first and only Dutch Bros Coffee location in their state. Park West Village was the recent honoree in North Carolina, and long lines of quaffers of espresso-laden Caramelizers and Annihilators stretched out for weeks.
2026 Top 10 Retail Center Experiences: No. 10 Rosedale Center
In 2025, Rosedale Center recorded a 16% increase in foot traffic over 2024. (Image courtesy of JLL) Minnesota has been called “The Heart of Nordic America.” More than 43% of the state’s population identify themselves ethnically as Norwegians, Swedes and Danes descended from the Scandinavians who settled there in the 19th Century.
Perry’s Steakhouse to open a second Alabama location
Perry's 11,000-sq.-ft. restaurant can accommodate 350 diners. When Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille opens a new location, it’s not cattle being driven into the center’s parking lot, it’s valuable new retail, restaurant and entertainment brands. The latest property to win a Perry’s Steakhouse is the MidCity District in Huntsville, Ala., a $2.2 billion mixed-use redevelopment of CBL’s former Madison Square Mall.
Perry’s Steakhouse to open a 2nd Alabama location
Perry's 11,000-sq.-ft. restaurant can accommodate 350 diners. When Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille opens a new location, it’s not cattle being driven into the center’s parking lot, it’s valuable new retail, restaurant and entertainment brands. The latest property to win a Perry’s Steakhouse is the MidCity District in Huntsville, Ala., a $2.2 billion mixed-use redevelopment of CBL’s former Madison Square Mall.
Cleveland metro’s Crocker Park wins an Ikea store
“We had a very short list of retailers that we believed could truly transform this key anchor,” said Stark Enterprises EVP Lidia Saluan Richani. “The wait is over,” was the first line on the Stark Enterprises news release jubilantly announcing that Ikea would soon be taking up residence in the company’s award-winning Crocker Park in Westlake, Ohio, west of Cleveland. The Swedish retailing phenomenon will be occupying an 80,000-sq.-ft. space in the 4.5 million-sq.-ft.
Ryans “Ryde the Ryan Coaster” at Mall of America
More than 1,000 Ryans converged on MOA to "Ride, Ryan, Ride!" If your name is Ryan, and you can prove it with a driver’s license or birth certificate, you are automatically qualified to join one of the nation’s oddest clubs. Ryan Meetup chapters have been established in a dozen cities in North America that include Chicago, Toronto, New York, Denver, and Seattle.
New mixed-use project planned for downtown Jacksonville
Vandeveer will have 200-plus apartments and hold 200,000 square feet of retail space. Gateway Jax, the developer of the billion-dollar Pearl Square project in Jacksonville, has announced plans for the first mixed-use residential and retail building in the district. Called Vandeveer, the building will contain 205 residential units, 100,000 square feet of Class A office, and more than 200,000 square feet of retail and dining space.
Survey: Retail tenants continue to up investments in new technology
LMC's Blue Star Shopping Center in New Jersey Artificial intelligence has established itself as a core management tool among retail tenants at the 125 Northeastern centers managed by Levin Management Corp. (LMC). In its annual Retail Sentiment Survey, which gathered responses from more than 150 store managers, the North Plainfield, N.J.-based operator found that AI has increasingly become a standard item in their management toolboxes.
New Jersey’s Cherry Hill Mall signs six new tenants
Aritzia and its A-OK Café will fill a 20,000-sq.-ft. space. Crocs, Indochino, Timberland, True Religion, Gorjana, and Aritizia--with its in-store A-OK Café concept--will occupy a total of more than 30,000 square feet of one of the prime properties in PREIT’s portfolio. "Retailers at this level are choosing their next locations very carefully right now, and the fact that six of them chose Cherry Hill Mall in the same leasing period speaks volumes," said Paula Charles, senior VP of leasing at PREIT.
Retail and entertainment center to fill empty Macy’s site in Brooklyn
BKX will have close access to subway lines and the Long Island Rail Road. Last year, Macy’s Brooklyn store bid farewell to the Borough of Homes and Churches. But retail will soon return to the historic site on Fulton Street.
Colliers: How ‘Kidults’ are fueling sales of toys and collectibles
Labubu love: Walmart offers 20 different options of "The Monsters" doll. Cute plush toys with furry rabbit ears and toothsome smiles have long been the types of birthday and Christmas presents that delight the grade school nieces and nephews of adults. Recently, however, it’s become more the case that auntie and uncle are keeping those little cuties for themselves. If they can find them available in stores.
Historic Maryland brickworks to be the site of a mixed-use development
The retail portion of the project is already 50% leased. The Frederick Brick Works in Frederick, Md., that was known for its Frederick Reds bricks in the 19th century, is going to be resuscitated. Baltimore-based Greenberg Gibbons has closed on the property and announced that it will begin construction there on a $450 million, 65-acre mixed-use project.
After 60 years in its space at Cherry Hill Mall, Spencer’s makes a move
Spencer's original Cherry Hill Mall location is historically noted. In 1947, Spencer’s opened for business as a mail-order catalog company, selling a unique variety of apparel, jewelry, accessories, and sexual wellness products. It was in 1963 that the company opened its first store in the New Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia. After 63 years, Spencer’s will vacate the space that launched its brick-and-mortar business at Cherry Hill Mall —but it’s not leaving the premises.
New Jersey center sees 40% surge in visits following redevelopment
A re-mix of longtime tenants and a bevy of new ones have kept the parking lot full at Blue Star ShopRite’s decision to grow its business with a larger location at a shopping center in northern New Jersey has touched off a dramatic, single-year explosion of visitors at the complex. To make room for the new 72,000-sq.-ft.
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