Big moment for malls

French landlord Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield wants to sell all $5 billion of its U.S. retail properties by the end of next year. It’s a big moment for malls. As the retail industry’s first big post-pandemic deal, the move will reset the market and influence how similar properties are valued moving forward. URW entered the U.S. three years ago when it acquired the assets of Westfield Group, which include iconic properties like Westfield Century City in Los Angeles and Westfield World Trade Center in New York City, as well as suburban properties like Westfield Brandon near Tampa, Florida, and Westfield Wheaton in Maryland. URW executives said the smaller, regional malls would be the first to go and the company would assess options for the larger properties over the next 12 months.

Another medtail category that’s growing

It used to be dialysis, and this week Resquared told SCT that dentists are hugely in demand by shopping center leasing pros. We’ve also heard of mental health tenants absorbing shopping center space. Here’s another medical-wellness crossover on the hunt: Retail cryotherapy studio franchisor Icebox Cryotherapy opened a new unit at Kimco Realty’s Plaza at Short Hills in Millburn, New Jersey, and 41 units are underway across the country. Newmark is helping founder Alia Alston expand the concept, which provides cryotherapy services in an upscale, spa-like setting.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: Will 2021 be the year of medtail? on the ICSC Community

A tenant category you didn’t imagine demand coming from

Print magazines embracing brick-and-mortar retail? Allure will open a physical store in New York City’s SoHo. It will span 2,900 square feet over two levels, and its shelves will reflect Allure’s themes, including the iconic Best of Beauty Awards. The beauty magazine’s publisher — Conde Nast — and pop-up retail specialist Stour Group will operate the store. Food & Beverage magazine is seeking retail space, too, piggybacking on the ghost kitchen trend in the process. On a Clubhouse session last week called Space Tank, in which retail landlord Beth Azor sought to match landlords and small businesses, Food & Beverage reps pitched for restaurant-ish spaces for culinary students.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION: Social platform Clubhouse is buzzing: Curious how it will play out for real estate and lead gen on the ICSC Community

Digital tech at Men’s Wearhouse stores

Men’s Wearhouse has opened its first next-generation store prototypes — in Shenandoah, Texas and Buford, Georgia — incorporating more than 30 digital capabilities like buy-online-pick-up-in-store and curbside pickup. Contactless measurement tech from 3DLook uses artificial intelligence to analyze two photos to determine a person’s clothing size. And a touchscreen digital shirt wall helps customers choose style, fit and color from in-store and online inventory and add shirts to virtual fitting rooms. Associates then will bring selections for the customers to try on.

This time last year

Looking back at the stories SCT published a year ago this week: Open-air has been a pro during COVID times, bank branches still are solid tenant choices, and we’ll have to wait to see whether the restaurants-within-stores concept picks up steam again post-pandemic.

• New retailers, new opportunities in open-air centers
• Bank branches go newer and smaller
• Mixed-use developments deliver prime retail space
• What a restaurant can do for a store
• Transactions: Who’s paying how much for what

5 restaurant updates

• Dubai’s RoboCafe concept is helping customers dine out and socially distance at the same time.
• Checkers Drive-In Restaurants’ new prototype features a digital-only drive-thru.
• Gourmet concept Wolfnights has 500 stores on the menu.
• Salad restaurant chain GreenDistrict is growing in Louisville, Kentucky.
• January was Italian quick-service chain Fazoli’s best month ever; sales grew 22 percent year over year and traffic increased18 percent across its 220 locations.

Modular meeting rooms in shopping centers

ZenSpace, which provides flexible office spaces, has opened its first SmartPod, at Santa Clara, California’s Westfield Valley Fair. That 150-square-foot module, slated to stand there for a year, has four two-seater pods, each 23 square feet. It features noise-reducing walls, Wi-Fi, power and USB ports, air circulation, smart locks and adjustable LED lighting and temperature. Users can reserve space at a kiosk, on an app, or online via phone or computer.

Résumé update

Andrea Olshan will join Seritage Growth Properties as president and CEO. After 17 years at Olshan Properties, including nine as CEO, she will become chair. Olshan Properties — which owns hotel, retail, office and multifamily across the U.S. — has promoted senior managing director of capital markets and asset management Zachary Bornstein to president and senior managing director of capital markets Michael Odell to executive managing director and head of investments and capital markets.

Pyramid founder Robert Congel has died

Pyramid Cos. founder and chairman Robert Congel died Feb. 3, at 85 years old. Under his leadership, Pyramid developed nearly 26 million square feet of commercial space throughout New York state and Massachusetts. Today, Pyramid owns 14 malls, and its flagship property, Syracuse’s Destiny USA, is New York’s largest shopping center and the sixth largest in the U.S. Robert Congel’s son Stephen has served as CEO for the past 13 years.

The latest retail developments

In St. Peters, Missouri, home improvement chain Hoods Discount Home Center purchased a vacant, 90,000-square-foot shopping center from Pace Properties. This spring, it plans to open a store there and fill the remaining space with inline tenants. Hoods operates five locations in the St. Louis area.

Regency Centers will develop the 76,588-square-foot East San Marco in Jacksonville, Florida, with parking on one level and a 39,000-square-foot Publix above it. Construction on that building should be complete by summer 2022. The 3.25 acres will also get a two-level, 8,665-square-foot retail building; a one-level, 9,951-square-foot retail building, and a one-level, 1,430-square-foot Publix Liquors store.

After eight years, Brookfield Properties completed the 200,000-square-foot retail component of its downtown Nashville mixed-use project, Fifth + Broadway, a collaboration with local developer Pat Emery on the site of the former convention center. Tenants, which will include local and national retailers and eateries like Free People and Shake Shack, will begin opening their doors March 4. The project also includes a 24-level, 372,000-square-foot office tower and a 34-story, 386-unit luxury residential tower. Then project connects to the 56,000-square-foot National Museum of African American Music.

A developer plans to build a shopping center on the 5.5-acre site of San Luis Obispo County, California’s former Nipomo Recreation Center. It will include an 18,800-square-foot Tractor Supply Co., an 18,000-square-foot Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, a 7,454-square-foot O’Reilly Auto Parts and a 2,756-square-foot Wendy’s.

Next month, JT Klein Co. will break ground on the $105 million redevelopment of Madison, Wisconsin’s vacant, 200,000-square-foot Westgate Mall into 234 market-rate units, 71 moderate-income units and 161 units of low-cost housing and independent senior living. Construction on the first phase, a 156-unit building, is expected to begin in May or June. The four other buildings in the 10-acre project would start every four months after.

Developers are converting a 300,000-square-foot shopping center in Carbondale, Colorado, into a mixed-use complex with 76 residential rental units, a self-storage facility and 10,000 square feet of retail.

Matter Real Estate Group has begun vertical construction on its $400 million development in Southwest Las Vegas, called Uncommons. The mixed-use community will open in early 2022. The walkable campus will offer 500,000 square feet of office, 830 residential units, restaurants, health and fitness studios, and the Platform One food hall. The developer broke ground on the project in August.