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MONTICELLO, N.Y. — EPR Properties (NYSE: EPR) has unveiled plans to develop Adelaar, a new $750 million resort planned for the Catskills, just outside Monticello. Adelaar — the Dutch word for eagle — would be built on 1,700 acres on the site of the former Concord Resort in Sullivan County, located about 95 miles north of New York City. The ambitious plan includes a four-star hotel and casino with a spa, a retail component, entertainment hall and an 18-hole golf course. The resort would also include a 350-room, family-style lodge with an indoor waterpark, as well as an outdoor adventure park with zip lines, a snow tubing facility and mountain coaster. “As a major Sullivan County landowner, we are very excited about the prospect of bringing the Adelaar vision to life,” says David Brain, president and CEO of Kansas City, Mo.-based EPR Properties. “This new world-class destination resort will deliver significant economic benefits for local businesses, create dependable local employment and have a positive impact on tourism in upstate New York.” EPR Properties is teaming up with Empire Resorts Inc. (NASDAQ: NYNY), which currently operates the Monticello Casino and Raceway. Empire Resorts intends to apply for a license to own …

NEW YORK — American Realty Capital Properties Inc. (NASDAQ: ARCP), the nation’s largest net lease REIT, will spin off its $2.2 billion multi-tenant shopping center business into a separate publicly traded REIT known as American Realty Capital Centers Inc. (ARCenters). The new entity will own 69 properties in 26 states totaling 11.8 million square feet. ARCP, which will retain a 25 percent operating partnership in the spin-off REIT, will issue one share of ARCenters stock for every 10 shares of ARCP stock. The company projects the first-year annualized dividend for ARCenters at 73 cents per share while the annualized dividend for ARCP remains at $1 per share, according to a release. “As we promised our investors, we have strategically unlocked the value of our multi-tenant retail portfolio by announcing the creation of ARCenters and focusing ARCP’s portfolio exclusively on net lease assets,” says Nicholas Schorsch, CEO and chairman of ARCP who will also serve as chairman of ARCenters. “By separating the two high-quality portfolios, we intend to create more clarity, more efficiency and more opportunity for our stockholders. “Not only have we taken a step to enhance ARCP’s growth profile, but we have created another vehicle with the intention of …

FREMONT, CALIF. AND HAMPSTEAD, MD. — Formal apparel retailers Men’s Wearhouse (NYSE: MW) and Jos. A. Bank Clothiers (Nasdaq: JOSB) have entered into a definitive agreement under which Men’s Wearhouse will acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Jos. A. Bank for $65 per share in cash, or $1.8 billion. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction. Combined, Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank will have more than 1,700 stores in the United States. The companies have about 23,000 employees and sales of $3.5 billion on a pro-forma basis, making the combined company the fourth-largest men’s apparel retailer. In October 2013, Jos. A. Bank offered to buy Men’s Wearhouse for a reported $2.3 billion. Since that offer, Men’s Wearhouse had counter-offered to purchase Jos. A. Bank for the past six months leading up to the companies reaching the current agreement. Jos. A. Bank had rejected Men's Wearhouse's previous offers of $1.5 billion in November and $1.6 billion in December. “We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Jos. A. Bank, which we believe will deliver substantial benefits to our respective shareholders, employees and customers,” says Doug Ewert, president and CEO of …

FORT WORTH, TEXAS — The decision by RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) to close up to 1,100 underperforming stores this year was due to another quarter of poor performance, says CEO Joseph Magnacca. In the fourth quarter of 2013, Fort Worth-based RadioShack suffered a 19 percent decrease in same-store sales and a net loss of $191.4 million. That compares with a loss of $63.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2012. “Our fourth-quarter financial results were driven by a holiday season characterized by lower store traffic, intense promotional activity particularly in consumer electronics, a very soft mobility marketplace and a few operational issues,” said Joseph Magnacca, RadioShack CEO, in a statement issued March 4. The 1,100 store shutterings more than doubles the 500 closures that the chain was considering in early February, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, and represents approximately one-fifth of the company’s 5,200 U.S. locations. While the specific locations of the closures have not been released, RadioShack has its largest presence in California (565 stores), Texas (408 stores), New York (342 stores), Florida (309 stores) and Pennsylvania (232 stores), according to USA Today. The company’s well-documented downfall has included the “Fix 1500” initiative, which resulted in the reassignment …

LAS VEGAS — Caesars Entertainment Corp. (NASDAQ: CZR) has agreed to sell Bally’s Las Vegas, The Cromwell, The Quad and Harrah’s New Orleans to Caesars Growth Partners LLC for $2.2 billion. The transaction, which is expected to close in the second quarter of this year, includes assumed debt of $185 million and committed project capital expenditures of $223 million. The sale is part of Caesar Entertainment Corp.’s repositioning of its three primary structures: Caesars Growth Partners, Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. Inc. (CEOC) and the six-property Caesars Entertainment Resort Properties (CERP) portfolio. “[These] asset sales mark an important step in our ongoing efforts to repair CEOC’s balance sheet,” says Gary Loveman, chairman and CEO of Caesars Entertainment. “Caesars Entertainment and Caesars Acquisition Co. [the managing member of Caesars Growth Partners] have a combined equity market capitalization of more than $5 billion. To build equity value, we have employed a full complement of operating and financial tools. “The company expects to deploy a similar array of tools to improve CEOC’s financial position and build additional equity value.” Bally’s Las Vegas, located on Las Vegas Boulevard, totals 2,810 rooms and suites and features a 66,200-square-foot casino. The Quad, also on Las Vegas Boulevard, …

NEW YORK CITY — SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG), a real estate investment trust (REIT) and New York City’s largest office landlord, has agreed to acquire Ivanhoe Cambridge’s stake in the 2.6 million-square-foot office headquarters of Citigroup Inc. in New York City. The office campus is located at 388-390 Greenwich St. in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood. The transaction values the consolidated interest investment at nearly $1.6 billion. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of this year. “We have enjoyed a successful partnership with Ivanhoe Cambridge at 388-390 Greenwich, capped by Citigroup’s recent lease extension, which was one of the largest lease transactions ever executed in New York,” says Andrew Mathias, president of SL Green. The 388 Greenwich building is a 39-story tower with unobstructed views of Manhattan’s skyline and the Hudson River. 390 Greenwich is an eight-story property that features 94,000-square-foot trading floors. The office campus is leased to an affiliate of Citigroup Inc., a leading global bank with 200 million customer accounts, through 2035. The lease agreement includes an option for Citigroup to acquire the Tribeca campus during a three-year window from Dec. 1, 2017 to Dec. 1, 2020. Citigroup does business in more than …

CHICAGO — Ashford Hospitality Prime Inc. (NYSE: AHP) has acquired the 415-room Sofitel Chicago Water Tower hotel for $153 million, or $369,000 per key. The purchase price represents a cap rate of 6.8 percent on a forward 12-month basis. In 2013, the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower recorded revenue per available room (RevPAR) of $182, average occupancy of 82 percent and average daily rate (ADR) of $222. AHP, which was created in November of last year in a spin-off from Ashford Hospitality Trust, funded the acquisition with a five-year, $80 million non-recourse mortgage with a floating rate of LIBOR plus 2.3 percent. “Aside from being our first acquisition since the spin-off from Ashford Trust, the purchase of the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower is an extremely attractive transaction for Ashford Prime,” says Monty Bennett, AHP chairman and CEO. “We have gained a high-RevPAR luxury hotel in the heart of Chicago, a key U.S. gateway market. Additionally, the hotel will increase Prime’s overall average RevPAR and broaden our portfolio by market, brand and manager.” Located in the Gold Coast submarket of Chicago, the four-star hotel is in close proximity to the Magnificent Mile retail district. The American Institute of Architects recently included the …

BALA CYNWYD, PA. AND EDISON, N.J. — Keystone Property Group has agreed to acquire 12 office properties in the Tri-State area for $230.8 million from Mack-Cali Realty Corp. (NYSE: CLI). Keystone and Mack-Cali will form various joint ventures under which Keystone will pay $201.7 million in cash and the balance in the form of senior and subordinated equity. The portfolio totals 2.3 million square feet in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The deal will be the fifth transaction between Keystone and Mack-Cali in the last three years. In 2012 and 2013, Keystone acquired single office properties in Moorestown, N.J. and Blue Bell, Pa.; a portfolio of 14 office properties in suburban Philadelphia; and the 400,000-square-foot 100 Independence Mall West in the Philadelphia CBD, all from Mack-Cali via joint venture. “We continue to expand our relationship with Mack-Cali, leveraging the strengths of the partnership’s distinct capabilities to fill a void in the market for next-generation work environment that enable tenants to attract and retain top talent,” says Bill Glazer, president of Keystone. The Tri-State portfolio includes three buildings in Elmsford, N.Y.; two buildings in Tarrytown, N.Y.; three buildings in Montvale, N.J.; and one building each in Fairlawn, N.J.; Piscataway N.J.; …