didja hear...??? (continued from P. J469) tion of VP of Business Development and Seth Layton as VP of Asset Management, both working at the company's corporate headquarters in St. Petersburg, FL; prior to joining the company, Layton was with Kimco Realty Corp and Tombrink was with Equity, Inc...Rockville, MD-based Federal Realty Investment Trust has closed on $265 million of previously announced capital raising activities and intends to use the proceeds to pursue acquisition opportunities, fund its redevelopment pipeline, pay down its $372 million term loan, and/or for general corporate purposes....Lime Fresh Mexican Grill has hired Angela Kenyon as its new VP- development to assist in its expansion program; previously, she had been with Starbucks Coffee, Dunkin’ Brands, and Burger King...Discount retailer Dollar General-owned by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts- filed for an initial public offering and expects to raise $750 million, of which $200 million would be paid as a dividend to its investors...Jay M. Lepselter has joined Hilco Real Estate, LLC, a division of Hilco Trading, as SVP; previously, Lepselter was with Wet Seal...Expected to be completed in mid-to-late October, NRDC Aquistion Corp is converting into a real estate investment trust, called Retail Opportunity Investments Corp (ROI), which will have about $400 million in cash, enabling it to purchase or invest in up to $1 billion in real estate assets including neighborhood centers, regional malls, lifestyle centers, and power centers...Cadillac Fairview Corp Ltd has acquired real estate assets, including the 300,000 sq. ft. Windor Station office complex from Canadian Pacific Railway for $86 million...Canadian home improvement retailer, Rona Inc plans to unveil a new specialty paint store concept this fall, with three test locations opening in Montreal, PQ, followed by expansion into ON and Western Canada in ‘10 and ‘11...The 14-unit, Chicago, IL-based, Stir Crazy Fresh Asian Grill and the 14-unit Flat Top Grill
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have merged under new parent, Flat Out Crazy LLC, valued at more than $60 million...Beachwood, OH-based Developers Diversified Realty Corp has filed regulatory documents outlining both compensation plans and employment contracts with Chairman and CEO Scott Wolstein and President and COO Daniel Hurwitz indicating that Hurwitz has been "tapped" as next in line for the CEO spot...Weis Markets has acquired d11 Giant Market stores thoughout Broome County, NY, which have reopened under the new nameplate; the Sudbury, PA-based grocery chain now operates 165 stores in PA, MD, NJ, NY and WV...Jones Lang LaSalle has appointed Alex Dauria as managing director, and Ben Breslau and John Schena as national directors from the Boston Region; in addition, Chris Beeson, Stephen Flint, David Girard, Dana Griffin, and Mark Jolly were named associate directors...The 486-unit Steak n Shake Corp (SNS) and Western Sizzlin Corp have jointly announced the execution of a nonbinding Letter of Intent relating to a proposed merger of Western into a wholly-owned subsidiary of SNS... NY-based NRDC Equity Partners, which owns the Hudson's Bay Company department store chain are "highly interested in an additional investment in Canada" primarily focused on investing in basic-needs retailers, such as supermarkets and drugstores... The bankruptcy court hearing the case of General Growth Properties rejected creditors’ motions to dismiss several of the properties of the 166 mentioned in the suit; this clears the way for the mall owners to negotiate loan extensions with creditors...JCS Holdings Inc, parent of the 113-unit Joe's Crab Shack chain has changed its name to Ignite Restaurant Group; the name change comes as the company plans to open a fourth unit this fall of its new Brick House Tavern + Tap concept, which launched last year...A number of new IPO stock offerings have been filed recently to acquire distressed properties, including Strategic Retail Trust ($1 billion),
Brookfield Properties ($900,000) and Colonial Financial ($500 million)... After brief stints with datacenter developer Base Partners and NYC-based full-service commercial real estate company, Helmsley Spear, Aaron Wright has returned to his position as corporate managing director of San Francisco, CA-based tenant-rep firm Studley...Chattanooga, TN-based CBL & Associates, which owns 160 commercial properties, including 88 regional malls and open air shopping centers has shelved all renovations and major capital improvements at its properties nationwide including five in the St. Louis, MO, area alone; those properties include Chesterfield Mall, South County Center, and West County Center in St. Louis County, as well as Mid Rivers Mall in St. Charles County and The Shoppes at St. Clair Square in Fairview Heights... Circle K has retained NRC Realty & Capital Advisors LLC, based in Chicago, IL, to sell off 87 of its locations across the country...Sydney, Australia-based Westfield Group, which operates 119 shopping centers in Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. and U.K, has received commitments from Asian investors of more than $1.4 billion for a $1.25 billion loan...Marking the biggest IPO to hit the market this year, private equity firm Starwood Capital Group, has increased the size of its offering of a real-estate investment trust to $800 million...Specialty jewelry retailer, Finlay Enterprises, Inc has filed voluntary petition for relief under chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy code. The company operates 182 locations, including 67 Bailey Banks & Biddle, 34 Carlyle and 4 Congress specialty jewelry stores and 77 licensed departments with The Bon Ton...SouthEast Waffles, the largest independent franchisee of Waffle House restaurants with 105 locations throughout TN, AL, MI, and KY is trying to exit bankruptcy court with a new owner and has been offered bids from Golfer Phil Mickelson, a Tennesse restauranteur and the parent company of the Waffle House chain.
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