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SUNBURY, PA. — Weis Markets (NYSE: WMK), a supermarket chain based in Sunbury, announced it will invest $125 million in building and renovating its stores this year — a 25 percent increase compared to 2011. The plan was announced during the company's annual shareholder meeting Thursday. Vice chairman Jonathan Weis says the budget includes two new stores and 18 major remodels. Among the projects underway this year is a new, 65,400-square-foot Weis Market in Fogelsville, Pa., which is currently under construction. The market will be the first grocery store for residents in the Fogelsville area and is slated to open in 2013. “In addition, we expect to soon complete the purchase of three Genuardi's units near Philadelphia, which we hope to reopen later this summer,” says Weis. The company agreed to buy the supermarkets from Safeway Inc. in February. The Pennsylvania stores are located in Conshohocken, Doylestown and Norristown, and will operate under the Genuardi's Family Markets name until the deal is finalized. Douglas Green, a principal at Philadelphia-based Michael Salove & Associates, a retail real estate brokerage firm, says the remodeling strategy undertaken by Weis will help the company remain competitive in today's marketplace. “Weis is certainly a very …

SARASOTA, FLA. — Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Taubman Centers (NYSE:TCO) has unveiled its plans to construct the $315 million, 880,000-square-foot Mall at University Town Center, located at Interstate 75 and University Parkway in Sarasota. Taubman and Sarasota-based Benderson Development are developing the enclosed mall, which is slated to commence construction later this year. The mall’s anticipated delivery date is fall 2014. Taubman and Benderson will each own 50 percent of the property, while Taubman will be responsible for the development, management and leasing. The mall will feature an 80,000-square-foot Saks Fifth Avenue, a 160,000-square-foot Macy’s and a 180,000-square-foot Dillard’s. The property will also host approximately 115 retailers and restaurants, more than half of which will be new to the market. There will also be a fourth department store added at a future date. Executives of the mall’s three department stores spoke highly of the new development. “We are excited about expanding Saks Fifth Avenue's presence in Sarasota by opening our new store … which will be double the size of our existing store,” said Steve Sadove, chairman and CEO of Saks, in a press release. “We look forward to showcasing our increased assortment of designer offerings in the new space and …

CHICAGO — Ventas (NYSE: VTR), a Chicago-based healthcare REIT, has agreed to acquire a 100 percent interest in 16 private pay seniors housing communities for $362 million. Ventas is purchasing the properties from a joint venture between Sunrise Senior Living (NYSE: SRZ) and an institutional investor partner. The transaction will be funded through Ventas’ revolving credit facility, and all the properties will be acquired unencumbered. “With the acquisition of these exceedingly high-quality seniors living communities, we continue our enterprise growth while also expanding our private pay revenue source,” said Ventas chairman and CEO Debra Cafaro in a prepared statement. Sunrise will receive approximately $28 million for its 20 percent ownership interest in the portfolio. Sunrise will remain the manager of the communities under the pre-existing terms relating to management fees and contract length, which now range from 18 to 27 years. The acquired assets were developed by Sunrise, have a median age of 4 years and contain 1,274 units. The 16 properties span 12 states coast to coast, according to Lori Wittman, vice president of capital markets with Ventas. The senior living space has been a lucrative venture for Ventas and other REITs because it generates healthy returns. According to …

NEW YORK — BGC Partners is rapidly integrating Newmark Knight Frank, one of the largest commercial real estate brokerage firms in the U.S. that it acquired in October 2011, with Grubb & Ellis. The new entity, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, will offer a full-service commercial real estate platform. On Friday, BGC Partners (Nasdaq: BGCP) announced that it had closed on its acquisition of the assets of Grubb & Ellis Co., following the recent approval of the transaction by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. In addition to Grubb & Ellis professionals now joining the combined firm, Newmark Knight Frank has added more than 50 top-producing brokers in offices across the country in the last several months. “With more than 100 offices in North America, 250 million square feet in property and facilities management, and an outstanding national appraisal business, the creation of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank is a game-changing moment in the real estate industry,” said Michael Lehrman, global head of real estate at BGC Partners, in a prepared statement. “Newmark Knight Frank and Grubb & Ellis each have consistently ranked among the leading companies in the real estate industry, and now these two great …

The positive vibe in the U.S. economy stemming from robust job gains in January and February has quickly given way to a more subdued tone — at least temporarily. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 120,000 in March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday, falling well short of the 200,000 figure expected by most economists and raising questions about the strength of the recovery. For starters, is this a case of déjà vu or an aberration? “The current situation unfortunately harkens back to last year when the job market was gaining momentum, but thanks to a confluence of idiosyncratic factors that imperiled the economy, the labor market weakened beginning in May,” says Ryan Severino, senior economist with Reis, a New York-based commercial real estate research firm. “The situation in 2012 is similar, and because of this we should remain guarded about the outlook for 2012.” The sovereign debt crisis in Europe coupled with a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating by Standard & Poor’s last summer led to a heightened level of anxiety and uncertainty in 2011, which ultimately blunted the economic momentum. The concern is that rising gas prices resulting in part from escalating tensions in the Middle …

AUSTIN, TEXAS — American Campus Communities' Bill Bayless and EdR's Randy Churchey, CEOs of the two largest companies in the student housing sphere, weighed in Wednesday on emerging industry trends during the fourth annual InterFace Student Housing Conference in Austin that has attracted more than 700 attendees. The two publicly traded REITs have been growing by leaps and bounds, but most public attention has been on EdR, which secured an agreement with the University of Kentucky (UK) to develop and manage all of the university's on-campus housing. It is the first such deal to be struck where a large, land-grant public university chose to outsource its entire stock of on-campus housing. The 50-year ground lease was signed in February, and ground has been broken for a brand-new, 600-bed honors college. Eventually, EdR will add 3,000 beds to the campus and drive the on-campus bed total to 9,000. This agreement has the industry wondering what this deal could mean going forward. Moderator Dorothy Jackman, managing director of the National Student Housing Group for Colliers International, asked the CEOs if more colleges like UK will soon make similar deals. “Those types of major initiatives take longer to transact,” Bayless told the attendees …