The retailers are owned by Framingham, Mass.-based TJX Companies, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under TJX, operates more than 3,000 stores.

The new combo 50,000 square foot store, which opened at 8 a.m. Thursday, March 14, replaces the TJ Maxx store in the 28th Street SE shopping center in the midst of a “demalling.” The renovation is scheduled to be completed this summer.

T.J. Maxx sells designer fashions such as ladies and men’s clothing, shoes, jewelry, luggage and other bags while HomeGoods offers high-quality home fashions at discounted prices of between 20 to 60 percent off of department or specialty store regular prices, the company said.

The combo store features separate entrances, two distinct store environments and a common pass-through that allows customers the added convenience of shopping both stores. The store employs about 120 full and part-time workers, the off-price retailer said.

Grand opening hours for both stores are from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and regular store hours are Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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November 26, 2012

By: Lindsay VanHulle

A West Coast guitar retailer and a sushi restaurant are among new tenants slated for the Frandor Shopping Center, and its property manager said the new activity is a sign of a rebounding retail market.

Guitar Center Inc. plans to open its ninth Michigan store Feb. 7, 2013 at the eastside Lansing shopping center, said Vince Mattias, the store’s district manager.

The Westlake Village, Calif.-based chain, which sells such items as guitars, amplifiers and disc jockey equipment, will move into roughly 17,000 square feet between Kroger Co.’ s grocery store and a Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores location. The site used to be home to a Linens ‘n Things store prior to the company closing its stores in 2008 and becoming an online-only retailer.

Guitar Center joins other new businesses Tamaki Sushi, a venture from the owners of Xiao China Grille & Lounge, on East Saginaw Street not far from the shopping center, and Painting with a Twist, which offers painting lessons to people who can bring alcohol to sip as they work.

In addition, rare coin dealer Liberty Coin Service will expand into a larger storefront in January, said Patrick Corr, president of Lansing-based Corr Commercial Real Estate Inc. and Frandor’s property manager.

“Things have picked up quite a bit in the market,” Corr said. He said he is working to recruit other businesses to Frandor but did not elaborate.

Guitar Center sells musical and recording equipment to performers and hobbyists, Mattias said. It also will offer music lessons. The company has stores in 44 states.

Hiring details aren’t yet final, but Mattias said he anticipates 25 to 30 employees will work in sales and music instructor positions. Hiring should start in December, he said.

The store will bring “healthy competition” to Marshall Music Co., founded in Lansing in 1948 and located just down the street, Corr said.

Marshall Music has a similar product line aimed at novice musicians that will overlap “considerably,” said Bill Gourley, the store’s general manager. The company experienced similar situations in Kalamazoo and Allen Park, cities in which Guitar Center also opened stores.

Another new name, Tamaki Sushi, is expected to open this week near the Panera Bread Co. store. Corr said the restaurant will offer custom sushi and wraps.

Its owners could not be reached for additional details.

Fashion Bug will leave the shopping center in the first quarter of 2013 as part of the discount women’s clothing chain’s decision to close all of its U.S. stores. Corr said he will be in search of a retailer to fill that void, as well as service-oriented tenants. Recruiting new restaurants will not be a priority, he said.

Frandor has been referenced in discussions about the proposed redevelopment of the shuttered Red Cedar Golf Course, just down Michigan Avenue from the shopping center. Local developers Joel Ferguson and Chris Jerome want to turn the course into a mixed-use development with housing, dining, shopping and recreation.

Mayor Virg Bernero’s administration and local economic development leaders hope the revitalized property will be a catalyst for upgrades along the corridor, including Frandor.

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April 16, 2012

By: Pete Daly

The city of Wyoming, economic development agency The Right Place Inc. and West Bloomfield development company Lormax Stern announced this morning that the cleared site on 36th Street where the General Motors stamping plant once stood will now be marketed as Site36, with the goal being eventual occupancy by one or two major manufacturers.

The new name and marketing campaign were unveiled in Wyoming at a news conference in Wyoming held by the public-private partnership between the city, the developer and The Right Place.

Lormax Stern, based in West Bloomfield, Mich., also owns the Centerpointe Mall in southeast Grand Rapids.

“General Motors was an outstanding employer in this community for 73 years, providing thousands of jobs for the community. Now it is time to set the stage for the next generation of that site,” said Birgit Klohs, president and CEO of The Right Place.

Klohs provided an overview of the development’s website, www.site36plan.com, as well as a marketing video. Those, along with a printed brochure, lead-generation efforts, public relations, advertising and direct-mail campaigns will comprise the primary marketing tools for Site36.

Jason Horton from Lormax Stern said that when fully remediated environmentally and ready for development in late 2012, the property will be pre-approved by environmental and government agencies for “fast-track” construction.

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April 6, 2012

By: Shandra Martinez

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — For years, the owners of Centerpointe have wanted to transform the aging mall into an open air shopping center known as a power center.

That ambitious plan was postponed when the recession hit the retail industry hard. But that delay may have ultimately paved the way for better results, said Chris Brochert, a partner in Lormax Stern Development Co.

Three major tenants left the mall in 2008. Linen ‘n Things and Steve and Barry’s were lost to bankruptcy, while the struggling Klingman’s was bought by Israels and relocated.

It was a blow financially for the mall operators but also an opportunity.

“It opened the door for us to make a change,” said Brochert, whose West Bloomfield company is also redeveloping the former GM Stamping plant in Wyoming.

When Lormax Stern bought the mall in 2000, the company gave the 65-acre shopping site, at 3665 28th St. SE, a $20 million facelift and changed the name from Eastbrook to Centerpointe.

Lormax Stern’s plans to de-mall Centerpointe will produce much more dramatic results. The interior commons space will be torn down and replaced with parking.

All the stores will have outside entrances. Removing the interior space will dramatically drop the shopping center’s heating, cooling and lighting costs.

Stores will stay open during the construction that is expected to take a year. A grand opening of the “demalled” shopping center is planned for June 2013.

The 3-story building that housed Klingman’s is being demolished and will be replaced by a 52,000 square-foot single-story building that will house a TJ Maxx/HomeGoods store with an additional 19,000 square feet.

David’s Bridal will relocate into a new 10,000-square-foot building in the parking lot to the south while Men’s Wearhouse will move from its current 5,500-square-foot building outside the mall, at 3575 28th St. SE, to a new 7,500-square-foot building on the former Brewing Co. restaurant site. That building will be shared with The Vitamin Shoppe, a new tenant.

DSW will move from the mall’s northside into the former Steve and Barry’s. Clothing stores Dots, Rue 21 and Dress Barn will move into the space formerly occupied by Modern Skate & Turf along with Five Below, a teen-focused general merchandise store and ULTA, a cosmetics retailer.

The mall’s smaller retailers – which are on month-to-month leases – will move into a freestanding building along with David’s Bridal.

Centerpointe can’t compete as a mall without major tenants like Macy’s, Sears and JCPenney, said Brochert.

“To attract small tenants, you need to have major big anchors that will drive a lot of traffic,” said Brochert. “We don’t have that. We have junior box anchors like Nordstrom Rack or TJ Maxx. Those kind of tenants don’t drive substantial amount of traffic.”

The mall will shrink from 900,000 square feet – of which 750,000 is leasable space – to 525,000 square feet.

“Right now, we are 98 percent leased based on new configuration,” Brochert said.

When the project is completed next year, the number of retailers will double to more than 25 stores and up to three restaurants.

The stores will have more flexibility in setting in their own hours.

The investors are part of a new partnership, Centerpointe LLC, which recently bought the facility. Lormax Stern remains the managing partner. Brochert won’t say how much the company is spending, other than to say the investment involves “millions and millions” of dollars.

The investors are part of a new partnership, Centerpointe LLC, which owns the facility. Lormax Stern remains the managing partner. Brochert won’t say how much the company is investing, other than to say the investment involves “millions and millions” of dollars.

The demolition work so far has added up to just over $125,000, according to building permits taken out with the city.

Jerry Poisson, who was recently shopping in the mall with his son, says he is looking forward to the changes.

“The mall is kind of confusing from the outside so anything that makes it user friendly is OK,” said Poisson, 55, who remembers the excitement when the mall opened in 1967.

It had a lot of Grand Rapids-based stores including anchors Wurzburg’s and Steketee’s and was the area’s big mall, until Woodland Mall opened three years later across the street. It was a bigger draw because its anchors were national retailers.

“It’s never shone brightly after Woodland (opened),” Poisson said.

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"Fairlane Green is near 100% occupancy, the majority of its tenants are well-known national retailers performing well above national averages, and it is located at a prime retail location within the trade area."

Cole Real Estate Investments (Cole), one of the nation’s leading investors in high-quality, income-producing retail, office and industrial real estate assets, announced the acquisition of Fairlane Green, a 270,000-square-foot retail power center located in Allen Park, MI. The property, which Cole purchased for $47 million, is 97% occupied and situated in a thriving destination retail trade area south of Detroit, accessible to more than 355,000 residents. “This acquisition has many of the attributes that Cole seeks as an investor in multi-tenant retail properties,” said Scott M. Holmes, senior vice president, acquisitions, multi-tenant retail, who represented Cole in the transaction. “Fairlane Green is near 100% occupancy, the majority of its tenants are well-known national retailers performing well above national averages, and it is located at a prime retail location within the trade area. These factors make the purchase of Fairlane Green consistent with our disciplined investment strategy.”

Constructed in 2005, Fairlane Green is home to TJ Maxx, Bed Bath & Beyond, Barnes & Noble, Michael’s, Old Navy, Ulta, Pier 1 Imports, The Gap, Five Below, Famous Footwear, Panera Bread, Bath & Body Works, dressbarn and Carter’s, among others. National restaurants On the Border, Chili’s and Longhorn Steakhouse also operate within the center, pursuant to ground leases. Overall, national retailers occupy 89% of the property. Fairlane Green is shadow-anchored by an adjacent Target store, which drives additional retail traffic to the property.

The shopping center is located on Fairlane Drive in Allen Park, between I-94 and the Southfield Freeway, in a historically strong retail corridor. Allen Park is part of the “Downriver” communities of the Detroit metropolitan area, a collection of 18 suburban cities and townships located south of Detroit along the western shore of the Detroit River. The Ford Motor Company has long been an integral part of Allen Park, with many corporate offices and R&D facilities located within the city limits.

Ben Wineman, principal of Mid-America Real Estate Corporation, represented the seller.

Other recent multi-tenant retail acquisitions completed by Cole include Indian Lakes Crossing in Virginia Beach, VA (65,000 SF/$14.2 million); Kyle Marketplace in Kyle, TX (219,000 SF/$45 million); The Parke in San Antonio, TX (90,000 SF/$7.25 million); Silverado Plaza in Tucson, AZ (78,000 SF/$9.25 million); Cleveland Town Center in Cleveland, TN (153,000 SF/$17.65 million); Crossroads Marketplace in Warner Robins, GA (77,000 SF/$11.25 million); Shoppes of Sugarmill Woods in Homosassa, FL (53,000 SF/$8.1 million); Midtowne Park in Anderson, SC (167,000 SF/$25.6 million); and Belleview Plaza in Pensacola, FL (83,000 SF/$8.2 million).

About Cole Real Estate Investments
Founded in 1979, Cole Real Estate Investments is one of the most active acquirers of core real estate assets, managing one of the country’s largest portfolios of retail properties. Cole primarily targets net-leased single-tenant and multi-tenant retail properties under long-term leases with high credit quality tenants, as well as single-tenant office and industrial properties, using a conservative investment and financing strategy. At the end of 2011, Cole-related entities owned and managed more than 1,600 assets representing approximately 60 million square feet of commercial real estate in 47 states with a combined acquisition cost of approximately $10 billion.

Follow Cole on Google+ and Twitter @ColeRealEstate and @ColeCapital.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may be considered forward-looking statements that reflect the current views of Cole Real Estate Investments and Cole’s management with respect to future events. Forward-looking statements about Cole’s plans, strategies and prospects are based on current information, estimates and projections; they are subject to risks and uncertainties, as well as known and unknown risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. Forward-looking statements are not intended to be a guarantee of any event, action, result, outcome or performance in future periods. Cole does not intend or assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on them.

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February 20, 2012

By: Lance Murray, Digital Content Producer

Spec’s Wine, Spirits & Finer Foods has signed two leases in Fort Worth and announced it is has leased space for a store in Plano.

The Houston-based company has leased 30,000 square feed of space at Interstate 30 and Eastchase in Fort Worth. The site was a former Office Depot, according to the Dallas Morning News. The site is an addition to the lease that Spec’s signed to take over the space on South Hulen in Fort Worth that had been occupied by Marvin’s Electronics.

The Plano store will be in Gleneagles Plaza at the southeast corner of Park Boulevard and the Dallas North Tollway, the Morning News reported.

Spec’s, which was formed in 1962, is the largest liquor chain in Texas with 95 locations.

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January 11, 2012 4:05 PM

By: Pat Schellenbarger

The General Motors Corp. stamping plant in suburban Grand Rapids was born in the Great Depression and died in the last recession. Now West Michigan government and economic development officials are betting that the site will enjoy an economic revival.

Eighteen months after demolition began on the 2 million-square-foot factory, the site is nearly cleared and will be ready for a prospective manufacturer by July, Wyoming City Manager Curtis Holt said. The city and its partners are embarking on a marketing campaign to attract one or two large employers.

The plant is among 105 auto manufacturing sites in Michigan that have closed since 1979 and one of 61 that remain vacant, according to a recent study by the Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research.

General Motors Corp.

opened the stamping plant on 36th Street in 1936, 23 years before Wyoming became a city. Over the decades, the plant was repeatedly expanded and updated.

In 2005, the plant received its last tax abatement when it installed $200 million worth of new presses.

That’s why Holt was shocked when he received a call from the plant’s comptroller in October 2008 alerting him that it was slated for closing as part of GM’s bankruptcy reorganization. The Wyoming plant, known for its relatively low cost and high productivity, paid $2.5 million in personal and city property taxes each year — about 17 percent of the city’s budget.

A stakeholders committee considered converting the nearly 92-acre site into an industrial park but decided that a better strategy was to lure one or two large manufacturers.

At its peak, the plant employed about 3,000 workers, but its workforce had declined to about 2,000 a decade ago — still one of the area’s largest employers.

Whatever company ends up locating on the site might employ 1,000, maybe 1,500, said Chris Brochert, a partner with Bloomfield Hills-based Lormax Stern, which plans to develop the site.

“We’re going to be very discriminating about the kind of business we put there,” he said.

The site already has drawn “a lot” of interest from potential buyers, Brochert said, but he declined to identify them. Its location in West Michigan between Detroit and Chicago makes it highly desirable, he said.

“A lot of people seem to think Grand Rapids is the shining star in Michigan,” Brochert said.

Lormax Stern acquired the property from Motors Liquidation Co., which was formed by GM during the bankruptcy. In July, Lormax Stern sold the property to the city of Wyoming for $1 but retained development rights.

To attract a buyer, the company and city are working with The Right Place, the Grand Rapids area’s economic development agency.

“It’s the top of my hit parade,” said Right Place President Birgit Klohs. “This is a very special site.”

What makes it special, she said, is the infrastructure, including its location next to the U.S. 131 freeway, an adjacent rail line, an electrical substation and water, sewer and natural-gas lines.

The Right Place recently hired Indianapolis-based Applied Marketing to develop an interactive video and print materials promoting the site. The property would be ideal for companies in alternative energy, aerospace and other high-tech manufacturing, Klohs said.

“There are still industries that need a substantial piece of property like this,” she said — but added, “not as many as 15 or 20 years ago. There may only be a dozen companies that would be interested. We want to find them.”

The property was grandfathered in as a brownfield site before Gov. Rick Snyder and the Legislature repealed that tax credit program at the end of 2011, Holt said. Wyoming can offer another incentive, he said.

“Because we own the property, we’re prepared to offer a deal on the site,” Holt said.

He, Klohs and Brochert agreed that it could take a few years to find a large employer suitable for the site.

“Our hope is to restore the tax base,” Holt said, “but our big hope is to restore those jobs. I’m not sure we’ll ever match the amount of taxes. I’m not sure we’ll match the number of jobs. But we’re going to try our darnedest.”

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November 15, 2011

By: Daniel Duggan

The state of Michigan has approved a $3.3 million tax incentive for the development of a Meijer Inc. store on the site of the vacant Redford High School in Detroit.

The approval was among $11.4 million in tax incentives OK’d today by the board of the Michigan Economic Growth Authority.

Today’s vote is among the final approvals for the Meijer project, which would be the second store planned for Detroit by the Grand Rapids-based grocery company. Construction will start soon on a Meijer store on Woodward Avenue near Eight Mile Road.

Public incentives are crucial to the $35 million Redford High School project, said Chris Brochert, a partner in the development entity working on the project: Lormax Stern Detroit Development LLC, a subsidiary of West Bloomfield Township-based Lormax Stern Development Co.

Total tax incentives on the project are close to $11 million, he said.

“A project like this would never get done without these kinds of incentives,” Brochert said. “The cost to demolish the building on the site and remediate it is astronomical and would never get done when you compare it to the cost of a greenfield project.”

The Meijer will be built on 25 acres at the southwest corner of Grand River Avenue and McNichols Road. The high school closed in 2007.

Frank Guglielmi, director of public relations for Meijer, said that “while we are definitely considering a store at that site, we are still in the due diligence phase.”

Brochert said demolition on the site could start by next year.

Also today, the MEGA board approved:

• The use of local tax capture totaling $4.7 million to demolish six underused and vacant buildings in Grand Rapids and construct a 130,000 square-foot urban market. (To read Crain’s Michigan Business story about the market,click here.)

• A brownfield tax credit totaling $3.2 million for the redevelopment of a surface parking lot in Kalamazoo into an eight-story mixed-use development that will have residential, office, commercial and retail space.

• The redevelopment of about 7.4 acres at 2810 Baker Road in Dexter. The existing 83,345-square-foot light industrial building will be demolished to make way for a 53,081-square-foot Dexter Wellness Center.

The developer is BST Investments LLC, an Ann Arbor-based entity of which Steven Brouwer is registered agent.

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June 07, 2010 2:46 PM

By Daniel Duggan

West Bloomfield Township-based retail developer Lormax Stern Development Co. has purchased phase one of the Fairlane Green retail development in Allen Park from a Texas-based investment group.

Sale of the 400,000-square-foot facility closed Friday. The sale price was not disclosed.

Selling the retail center was Archon Group, a real estate investment company that is a subsidiary of New York-based Goldman Sachs Inc. The Southfield office of CB Richard Ellis represented Archon. Lormax Stern represented itself.

Lormax Stern was a consultant early in the development process of the shopping center, making it interesting to purchase four years after it was built, said Chris Brochert, a partner with Lormax Stern.

“This is exactly the kind of asset Lormax Stern would purchase, he said. “It’s a long-term ownership position, and we’re reinvesting in Southeast Michigan.”

Also, among the 28 shopping centers owned by Lormax Stern, is the Lowe’s-anchored Independence Marketplace center next to Fairlane

Fairlane is known in real estate circles for its unique legal structure.

It was once a landfill used by Ford Motor Co. The Dearborn OEM’s land division, Ford Land, capped the landfill and created a vertical condominium structure for the property.

Under that structure, Archon purchased the surface of the land while Ford Land retains all land beneath the surface-  including the capped landfill.

Developed in 2006, the property is certified at the “gold” level by the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program.

The property, on the north side of Fairlane Drive, is currently 87-percent occupied with anchor tenants Barnes & Noble, TJ Maxx, Old Navy and Bed Bath & Beyond, with a Target store adjacent to the development.

A second phase to the development is to the south, containing a Meijer, Home Depot and Best Buy.

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CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS

By Gabe Nelson

A groundbreaking ceremony for the planned Livonia Marketplaceshopping center has been scheduled for Thursday, the developers of the 325,000-square-foot complex announced today.The shopping center is being developed by Livonia Phoenix L.L.C., a partnership consisting of Farmington Hills-based Grand/Sakwa Properties L.L.C., Bloomfield Township-based Lormax Stern Development Co. and Boca Raton-based Konover South L.L.C. Wal-Mart has agreed to build a super center anchoring the complex at the northwest corner of 7 Mile and Middlebelt roads. Developers are close to releasing the names of “a handful” of additional tenants, said Karl Zarbo, director of operations at Livonia Phoenix and a property manager at Grand/Sakwa.“In very difficult times, we’re pleasantly surprised with the interest that we’re able to get,” he said.Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano and Livonia Mayor Jack Kirksey are slated to attend the groundbreaking ceremony, scheduled for 11 a.m.The open-air shopping center will replace 650,000-square-foot Livonia Mall, which was demolished earlier this year.Zarbo said the developers have already begun work on utilities and plan to turn over the future Wal-Mart site to the company in September. All the retail space should be completed next summer, he said.

According to a February report by the Michigan Economic Growth Authority, the capital project will cost $60 million, with $35 million coming from developers and the remaining $25 million coming from Wal-Mart.

MEGA has authorized a state and local tax capture worth $6.6 million for the project. Half the project’s property tax payments will also be refunded for five years through the Wayne County TURBO program.

The Wal-Mart, slated to fill 180,000 square feet at the shopping center, would become the second built recently at the site of a former Livonia shopping mall.

Another Wal-Mart opened two years ago near Plymouth and Middlebelt roads, at the former site of Wonderland Mall. It is about four miles from the new complex.

Developers are hoping there’s enough consumer demand to support the two Wal-Marts. Zarbo said they’re confident because more than a dozen retail stores formerly had locations at both Livonia Mall and Wonderland Mall.

“They’re two separate locations,” he said. “Our primary market doesn’t go that far south, and their target market doesn’t go that far north.”

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