CONSHOHOCKEN, PA. — Keystone Property Group has received zoning approvals for the development of SORA West a transit-oriented mixed-use development in the Philadelphia suburb of Conshohocken. Upon completion, SORA West will include a central plaza surrounded by a 250,000-square-foot office building, retail and dining space, a 171-key hotel, the existing Conshohocken Firehouse and a 950-space parking structure. The project will be located adjacent to the Conshohocken SEPTA train station, near Route 76 and Route 476. Keystone is now in the process of finalizing the plans and pursuing land development approvals. In addition to office, retail, hotel and community uses, the developer is assessing the viability of adding a residential component to the property. Keystone is headquartered in SORA East, which is located one block away from SORA West.
Restaurant
LOS ANGELES — Taubman Centers, Inc. has named four new restaurants that will join Beverly Center’s culinary lineup as part of the shopping and dining destination’s $500 million redevelopment. The restaurants — Cal Mare, Eggslut, Farmhouse and Yardbird — will be located on Level 1. All are expected to open by the end of 2018. A brand new 8,200-square-foot concept from James Beard Award-winning, Michelin-starred Chef Michael Mina, Cal Mare is a celebration of coastal Italian cuisine with Mediterranean and Californian influences. Farmhouse celebrates California’s bounty from local farms, markets, dairies and purveyors, situated within a new informal dining experience in a 7,000-square-foot space. Yardbird will be a 6,000-square-foot homage to farm-fresh ingredients, classic Southern cooking, culture and hospitality, helmed by award-winning restaurateur John Kunkel. Eggslut is a gourmet food concept founded in 2011 as a food truck. Every store is open throughout the renovation that is scheduled to be completed by holiday 2018. Beverly Center has more than 100 distinctive stores, including Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Saint Laurent and Salvatore Ferragamo. The center is anchored by Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s. Taubman Centers is engaged in the ownership, management and/or leasing of 27 regional, super-regional and outlet shopping centers …
CHICAGO — Maillard Tavern has signed a 1,600-square-foot lease to open a restaurant in Chicago. The burger restaurant, which will also offer ice cream and cocktails, will occupy the space at the southern apex of the Milwaukee Avenue and Halsted Street intersection. The restaurant is slated to open late this summer and will be the third operation for Tony Priolo and Ciro Longobardo. The duo opened their second venture, Nonnina, in 2012 in River North. Danny Spitz, Greg Dietz and Jacqueline Brito of Baum Realty Group LLC brokered the lease transaction on behalf of the landlord, the owners of the adjacent Piccolo Sogno building.
NEW YORK CITY — SCG Retail, a division of The Shopping Center Group, has arranged the lease of a new location for Quality Eats at 3 E. 28th St. in Manhattan. Quality Eats is a steakhouse concept owned by Quality Branded Restaurants. The 5,000-square-foot location is expected to open late this year. Allan Stillman and Michael Stillman founded Quality Branded Restaurants, formerly known as Fourth Wall Restaurant Group, in 2007. The first location for Quality Eats opened more than a year ago in Greenwich Village. The restaurant recently signed a lease for a second Manhattan location on the Upper East Side at 1496 Second Ave. Brandon Berger and Jackie Totolo of RKF represented the landlord, Winter Properties, while Taryn Brandes of SCG Retail represented the tenant in the transaction.
LAS VEGAS — Subway debuted its new Subway Fresh Forward design at the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) RECon show in Las Vegas last week. Along with a new Subway logo, flooring, wall coverings, wall art, a curated music program and lighting, the operational flow of the restaurants is changing as well. The workspace will be updated to be more efficient, while additional pieces of equipment, like an exhaust ventilation system, will help maintain temperatures and improve air quality. Subway franchisees have already piloted the new Subway Fresh Forward design in six locations (Knoxville, Tenn.; Orlando, Fla.; Chula Vista, Calif.; Tamarac, Fla.; Vancouver, Wash.; and Manchester, England). In addition, about 50 locations are in various stages of construction around the world and more than 100 restaurants are in the design phase.
LAS VEGAS — Simon is adding The Slanted Door to The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, opening in 2018. It will be the Vietnamese restaurant’s first location outside of California. A modern Vietnamese restaurant with roots in San Francisco’s Mission District, the 8,200-square-foot restaurant will be located on Las Vegas Boulevard. The Slanted Door opened its first restaurant in 1995 and received the James Beard Outstanding Restaurant award in 2014, which is given to only one restaurant nationally a year. The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace first opened in May 1992. After two subsequent expansions, The Forum Shops now offers 675,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment. Simon owns shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use properties.
DENVER — Church’s Chicken has entered into a multi-year development deal with Goalz Restaurant Group LLC to develop 20 Church’s Chicken restaurants per year in six states. The agreement, which will affect expansion in Colorado, as well as Florida, Kentucky, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina, is Church’s largest ever with a single operator. For the new development deal, Shawn Eby, president of Goalz Restaurant Group, partnered with American Development Partners (ADP) for development of the restaurants. ADP will invest capital to fund real estate acquisitions, construction and design. ADP will be Goalz’s build-to-suit landlord.
Whitman Family Development Wins Approval for $400M Enhancement Plan of Bal Harbour Shops
by John Nelson
BAL HARBOUR, FLA. — Whitman Family Development has gained final approval from the Bal Harbour Village Council for the $400 million enhancement plan for Bal Harbour Shops, an upscale, 450,000-square-foot, open-air shopping center located in Bal Harbour, an incorporated village near Miami Beach. The plan has been revised multiple times over the past decade, according to the Miami Herald. Whitman Family Development will add 340,387 square feet of retail space at Bal Harbour Shops, nearly doubling its footprint. The upgraded center will feature the first Barneys New York flagship store in the Southeast, upgrades to longtime anchor tenant Neiman Marcus and new dining options, including Freds at Barneys. The plan also calls for a new plaza at the shopping center’s main entrance along Collins Avenue. (Click here to view an animated video showcasing the improvements to Bal Harbour Shops.) Whitman Family Development aims to begin the early stages of the enhancement later this year, with major construction taking place in phases over the following five to six years in order to minimize the impact of construction on the surrounding area and the shopping center. “We’re thrilled to be making this major investment in the future of Bal Harbour Shops, which …
NEW YORK CITY — Eastern Consolidated has arranged a lease for Viand Cafe at 517 Columbus Ave. in Manhattan. The restaurant has operated a location in the Hotel Beacon at 2130 Broadway for more than 15 years. The restaurant is taking a 1,856-square-foot space at the corner of 85th Street and Columbus Avenue previously occupied by Jackson Hole restaurant, which closed last year. Eastern Consolidated’s Ben Biberaj and Harris Bulow represented Viand Café in negotiating a 15-year lease for the retail space, which includes 70 feet of frontage and a 490-square-foot basement. Rafe Evans and Eric Fisher of Walker Malloy & Co. represented the landlord, Shared Equities LLC.
CALABASAS HILLS, CALIF. — The Cheesecake Factory Inc.’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, W. Douglas Benn, will retire from the company on July 7. He will be succeeded by Matthew Clark, who brings over 11 years of experience with the company, most recently serving as senior vice president, finance and strategy. In his current role, Clark has overseen the strategy, planning, treasury and risk management functions at The Cheesecake Factory. He also supported investor relations as well as corporate governance during his tenure, and most recently led the company’s minority investment in two external, high-growth restaurant brands. Earlier in his career, he held a number of finance positions of increasing responsibility at Groupe Danone, Kinko’s and The Walt Disney Company. Benn is a veteran of the restaurant industry having spent more than 25 years in management roles with restaurant companies. He joined The Cheesecake Factory as CFO in 2009 and helped grow the company to over $2 billion in annual revenues while adjusted earnings per share more than tripled. Benn also contributed to the achievement of several milestones, including the company’s international expansion. Prior to joining The Cheesecake Factory, he served as executive vice president and CFO of …