$3 Billion Mixed-Use Development on Tap for Miami
A real estate developer plans to break ground next year on a $3 billion mixed-use project in Miami that’ll include 370,000 square feet of retail anchored by The Home Depot and BJ’s Wholesale Club. The 63-acre Little River District also will feature 5,730 affordable housing and workforce housing units, along with a new commuter rail station, Bisnow reported. Buildout is expected to last eight years. Five public housing complexes will be demolished to make way for the Little River District, situated in the Little River and Little Haiti neighborhoods.
Little River District Images above and at top courtesy of Swerdlow Group
The Miami-Dade County Commission on April 1 unanimously approved a 99-year land lease for the project, which is led by a developer group known as SG Holdings, a partnership of Swerdlow Group’s Michael Swerdlow, SJM Partners’ Stephen Garchik, and Alben Duffie.
Key Discount Retailers in “Expansion Race”
Photo courtesy of Five Below
Based on stepped-up consumer demand for bargains, discount brands sit “at the forefront of the expansion race” in retail, according to Northmarq’s Top 100: Tenant Expansion Trends report. “Several brands are focused on aggressive store openings and innovative concepts to align with shifting consumer needs and preferences,” said Northmarq.
2025 Fiscal-Year Projected Store Openings
- 595: Dollar General
- 225: Aldi
- 150: Five Below
- 100 net: Burlington
- 80: Ross Dress for Less
- 75: Ollie’s Bargain Outlet
- 70: TJX Cos., whose U.S. brands are TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, Homesense and Sierra
BJ’s Wholesale Club and Academy Sports + Outdoors Target Dozens More Stores
BJ’s Wholesale Club in Clearwater, Florida Photo courtesy of BJ’s Wholesale Club
BJ’s Wholesale Club has just announced expansion plans, as well. It will add 25 to 30 stores over the next two fiscal years. Nine are set to open this year or already are open, including store-gas station combinations that opened in Southern Pines, North Carolina, on March 7, and Whippany, New Jersey, on March 21. As of March 18, BJ’s operated 253 stores and 189 gas stations. During the 2024 fiscal year, which ended Feb. 3, the retailer opened seven stores and 12 gas stations. It reported a 2.5% bump in net sales from the 2023 budget year to the 2024 fiscal year.
Meanwhile, Academy Sports + Outdoors hopes to score more sales with the planned openings of 20 to 25 stores in its 2025 fiscal year, which started on Feb. 2. In March, the retailer debuted three of those new locations, pushing Academy past the 300-store mark. In the 2024 fiscal year, it opened 16 new stores. Academy’s net sales slipped 3.7% from the 2023 fiscal year to 2024 fiscal year.
GameStop Eyes More Store Closures in 2025
Photo credit: JHVEPhoto - stock.adobe.com
Amid a dramatic drop in sales, GameStop is preparing to close more stores. In a recent 10-K report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the retailer said it plans to shut “a significant number” of locations during the 2025 fiscal year, which began in February. As of Feb. 1, GameStop operated 2,325 U.S. stores, down 20% from 2,915 at the same time a year earlier, and 3,203 stores around the world, down 23% from 4,169. In February, the retailer said it was pursuing the sale of its Canadian and French operations. It said the closures are part of a “comprehensive store portfolio optimization review” aimed at pumping up profit. It reported on March 25 that net sales plummeted 28% from $5.27 billion in the 2023 fiscal year to $3.82 billion in the 2024 fiscal year.
SimonCRE Bets Big on Ground-Up Retail
Photo courtesy of SimonCRE
Even amid escalating construction costs, real estate developer Joshua Simon is immersing himself in ground-up retail projects. The Wall Street Journal reported the Scottsdale, Arizona, developer is gearing up for construction of about 1.5 million square feet of retail centers in six states over the next year. Since 2018, Simon has overseen construction of 2.6 million square feet of ground-up retail. WSJ said Simon’s company, SimonCRE, already has spent more than $1 billion on retail construction. Buoyed by government incentives and local financing, Simon has earmarked another $500 million for construction of retail centers through the end of 2026. Simon is a board member of the ICSC Foundation and an inaugural member of the ICSC Next Generation Leadership Network.
FROM THE C+CT ARCHIVE: Profile of former ICSC 4 Under 40 honoree Joshua Simon
JLL Launches a Mixed-Use Property Management Team, Plus Leadership Changes at Seritage and Nuveen Real Estate
JLL Property Management has established a mixed-use team called The Mixx that will maximize the value of mixed-use developments for clients. JLL’s Sean McNamara, previously a client relationship manager for JLL Property Management, will lead The Mixx as managing director. According to JLL, the new team will combine the efforts of the property management, marketing, placemaking strategy and leasing advisory departments.
Sean McNamara Photo courtesy of JLL
As the real estate portfolio of Seritage Growth Properties dwindles, Andrea Olshan is exiting the company as president and CEO effective April 11. Board chair Adam Metz will step in as interim president and CEO. Under a shareholder-approved strategy launched in March 2022, the company is shedding all of its assets. During a three-year span, the Seritage portfolio has shrunk from about 160 properties to 15. Seritage, a Sears Holdings Corp. spinoff created in 2015, once owned more than 230 Sears and Kmart stores, according to the Chicago Business Journal. Due to the property sell-off, the CEO’s role has diminished, so Olshan and Seritage agreed to part ways, the company said.
FROM THE C+CT ARCHIVE: Profile of former ICSC 4 Under 40 honoree Andrea Olshan
At Nuveen, investment manager for financial services company TIAA, Chad Phillips has taken over as global head of Nuveen Real Estate. He succeeds Chris McGibbon, who retired. Phillips now oversees $141 billion in commercial real estate assets under management. He also chairs Nuveen Real Estate’s global executive leadership team. Phillips has worked at Nuveen since 2019.
Chad Phillips Photo courtesy of Nuveen
By John Egan
Contributor, Commerce + Communities Today