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ASHEVILLE, N.C. — New England Development, a retail and outlet mall developer based in the Boston suburb of Newton, Mass., has opened the 75-store Asheville Outlets located at 800 Brevard Road in Asheville. The 325,000-square-foot, open-air outlet center houses such brands as Ann Taylor Factory Store, Banana Republic Factory Store, Brooks Brothers Factory Store, Coach, Cole Haan, GAP Factory Store, J. Crew Factory, Nike Factory Store, Tommy Hilfiger, Under Armour, and Vera Bradley Outlet. New England Development plans to open a 50,000-square-foot Field & Stream at the outlet mall in October. In addition to the retail shops, Asheville Outlets also includes a 350-seat food court that features free Wi-Fi and Asheville’s first dog watering fountain and way station. “We truly appreciate the dedication of the men and women who have worked so hard on this project,” said Douglass Karp, president of New England Development, during the grand opening ceremony on Friday, May 1. “I’m especially pleased to welcome the stores and the nearly 1,000 local employees who will be instrumental in making Asheville Outlets a special, regional shopping destination here in Asheville.” Asheville Outlets serves the greater Asheville market, along with upstate South Carolina and east Tennessee, and is located …

LAS VEGAS — Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Tropicana Las Vegas Casino Hotel Resort from its shareholders, the largest of which is a partnership between Onex and Alex Yemenidjian, for $360 million. Penn National intends to fund the acquisition through an expansion of its existing credit facilities and cash on hand. Tropicana Las Vegas sits on 35 acres at the corner of Tropicana Boulevard and Las Vegas Boulevard, 2.5 miles from McCarran International Airport on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip. The property features nearly 1,500 guest rooms including 181 suites. Amenities at the property include a 50,000-square-foot casino with over 1,000 gaming positions, a sports book, three full-service restaurants, a food court, a 1,200-seat performance theater, the 300-seat Laugh Factory comedy club, over 100,000 square feet of exhibition and meeting space, a five-acre tropical beach event area and spa. Over the past four years, Tropicana Las Vegas has completed more than $200 million of property upgrades including a complete renovation of all guest rooms, which feature a new South Beach theme. In addition, improvements were made to the ballroom, conference meeting space and Pavilion exhibition space, the showcase …

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Bennett Hospitality has broken ground on a $101 million, 185-key hotel project located at King Street and Marion Square in downtown Charleston. The more than 200,000-square-foot, eight-story luxury hotel will feature 185 guest rooms and a grand lobby entrance off King Street. A bi-level, fine-dining restaurant overlooking one of Charleston’s most renowned green spaces, Marion Square, and a separate full bar and lounge area will be among the hotel’s amenities. Additionally, patrons will have access to a rooftop pool with cabanas and bar, along with a full-service spa. Meeting space — some located on the roof — and a ballroom will also be available. “I worked on this hotel for 12 years to get all of the entitlements required,” says Michael Bennett, founder and owner of Bennett Hospitality. “Beautiful limestone, marble, bronze and copper — it will be built the way they built buildings 100 years ago. It will be built to last.” Marion Square is a 6.5-acre greenspace in downtown Charleston that served as the green for the Citadel military college in the 19th century and early 20th century. Today it serves as a public park under lease by the city of Charleston. Balfour Beatty Construction …

HOUSTON — Goddard Investment Group has sold 801 Travis, a 21-story, 220,380-square-foot office tower in downtown Houston. The buyer, LPC Realty Advisors I LP, an affiliate of Lincoln Property Co., purchased the office building on behalf of a pension fund client for an undisclosed amount. The office building is connected to the JW Marriott, which uses the office building’s 12th floor for its spa, fitness center, VIP lounge and executive offices. The hotel’s meeting space is also located on the lower level of 801 Travis. Originally constructed in 1981 and renovated in 2014, the office tower was 82.8 percent leased at the time of sale. In addition to the hotel’s amenities, the office building features an 11-story, 445-space parking garage. The office tower is located adjacent to two METRORail lines and is connected to the downtown tunnel system. The property is also situated near downtown Houston’s Theater District, George R. Brown Convention Center, Minute Maid Park and the Toyota Center. Dan Miller and Martin Hogan led HFF’s investment sales brokerage team to market 801 Travis on behalf of Goddard Investment Group. Goddard Investment was founded in 2000 in Atlanta. The commercial real estate investment firm has acquired and managed approximately …