Master-Planned Community Near Atlanta Will Include 600 Acres of Retail and Residential

A 2,400-acre, master-planned community that’s on tap for a growing area about 45 miles northwest of Atlanta will include a 600-acre, mixed-use section featuring retail and residential. Real estate investment manager Hines announced on Wednesday that it has teamed up with real estate owner Aubrey Corp. to build Aubrey Village in Bartow County, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metro area. Once completed, Aubrey Village will encompass as much as 10 million square feet, including shops like a grocery store and big-box stores, as well as restaurants, hotels, single-family, multifamily, factories, data centers and logistics facilities. Construction is scheduled to start in 2025 or 2026.

Developer Breaks Ground on $400M Mixed-Use Project in Houston Area

A Texas real estate developer has broken ground on a 750,000-square-foot, mixed-use project in the Houston suburb of Katy. A 148,793-square-foot Target will anchor Texas Heritage Marketplace, the $400 million, 165-acre project being developed by Houston-based NewQuest. Prospective tenants include Academy Sports + Outdoors, Burlington, Chair King Backyard Store, LongHorn Steakhouse, Lowe’s, Olive Garden and Ulta Beauty. Texas Heritage Marketplace also will feature 550 apartments and nearly 300,000 square feet of medical office and self-storage units. The project will serve a fast-growing community. Katy’s population soared 20.5% from April 2020 to July 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Simon Plans Nashville-Area Premium Outlets

Love’s Travel Stops Will Pump Up Its Brand With 70 New and Remodeled Stores

Construction crews for Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores will be busy this year. In 2025, the company plans to start building 20 new stores and begin updating 50 existing ones. It has earmarked about $1 billion for this work and other projects, Love’s president Shane Wharton told the trade publication CSP. By 2035, Love’s said, more than half its 655 locations will be new or remodeled.

The Container Store Is Exiting Bankruptcy and Going Private

The Container Store received court approval on Jan. 24 to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy and go private in a debt-for-equity deal backed by its lenders, Bloomberg and Reuters reported. These moves come a little over a month after the home organization retailer filed for bankruptcy. The restructuring eliminates about $88 million in long-term debt and supplies the company with $40 million in cash, according to Bloomberg, which cited court documents. Lenders supporting the restructuring and go-private action include Glendon Capital Management, Golub Capital and LCM Asset Management, according to Bloomberg and Reuters.

Coresight Research Predicts 15,000 Store Closures in 2025

The number of U.S. store closures will more than double in 2025 compared with 2024, research and advisory firm Coresight Research predicts. Its Store Tracker Extra: U.S. Store Openings and Closures 2024 Review and 2025 Outlook anticipates about 15,000 store closures this year, up from 7,325 last year. The firm has already tracked more than 2,000 planned store closures this year, including shutdowns announced by Big Lots, Kohl’s, Macy’s Inc. and Party City. Coresight also foresees a relatively flat number of U.S. store openings in 2025: 5,800 this year versus 5,970 last year.

“Last year, we saw the highest number of closures since the pandemic,” said Coresight founder and CEO Deborah Weinswig. “Retailers that were unable to adapt supply chains and implement technology to cut costs were significantly impacted, and we continue to see a trend of consumers opting for the path of least resistance. Not only do they want the best prices, but they also have no patience for stores that are constantly disorganized, out of stock and that deliver poor customer service.”