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Chicago -- Englewood Construction announced its retail group has begun work on the Chicago market’s first Ports 1961, a luxury apparel retailer, in Rosemont, Ill.
 
“Ports 1961 chose to enter the Chicago area by locating within Fashion Outlets of Chicago,” said William Di Santo, president of Lemont, Ill.-based Englewood Construction. “The retail world is anxiously awaiting the August 1 opening of this world-class fashion outlet mall in Rosemont.”

St. Petersburg, Fla. -- The Sembler Co. has added nearly 900,000 sq. ft. to its portfolio of third-party management and leasing assignments through the end of the year’s second quarter.

New assignments include co-managing 672,259 sq. ft. of retail properties across Florida and Georgia with Community Reinvestment Partners II. Sembler will handle leasing for most of the properties.

Dallas -- Cypress Equities Real Estate Investment Management has announced the acquisition of Lloyd Center in Portland, Ore. The enclosed, three-level 1,478,000-sq.-ft. regional shopping center is located near downtown close to the Convention Center, Rose Garden Arena and Memorial Coliseum.

Glenview, Ill. -- Eco Gym will open an 8,300-sq.-ft. solar- and human-powered health club at Glenbrook Market Place in Glenview, Ill., a North Shore suburb of Chicago, according to Mid-America Asset Management Inc., the landlord’s representative.

The fitness center, Eco Gym’s second, will use a combination of human kinetic power and solar power to generate electricity for its equipment. As members use the equipment, they generate more power to the central power grid, which lowers monthly dues.

Houston -- United Commercial Realty Houston has announced three new leases for Houston-area centers:

• Goody Goody Liquor will open a third Houston-area location at Copperfield Village Shopping Center this fall.

• Pink’s Pizza has signed a deal for its fifth area location at the Cougar Den Plaza adjacent to the University of Houston’s central campus.

• Affinity Veterinary will open a clinic at a center located at 19450 Katy Freeway in Houston.

Virginia Beach, Va. -- Divaris Real Estate has leased three retail spaces at shopping centers in Hampton and Virginia Beach.

Bank of America renewed its 6,000–sq.-ft. lease in Willow Oaks Village Square in Hampton.

Bruegger’s Bagels leased 2,400 sq. ft. in Southgate Commons in Virginia Beach. Also in Southgate Commons, Anthony Vince Nail Spa has taken 2,597 sq. ft.

A member of Realty Resources and the Virginia affiliate for The CORE Network, DRE represented the landlords in these transactions.

New York -- Gilt, the popular online retailer of  discounted high-end designer apparel and accessories, will open its first-ever brick-and-mortar location, a pop-up store in Shelbyville Road Plaza, Louisville, Ky.    
 
“GLI welcomes the first Gilt.com Designer Outlet to the Louisville business community,” said Greater Louisville Inc. CEO and president Craig J. Richard in a press release issued by the online retailer. “The exciting new concept store is a unique addition to our local retail market.”

Calabasas, Calif. -- Broader regional economic growth and improved consumer and retailer finances bode well for retail real estate investments in well-located properties, according to “The Retail Outlook” from Marcus & Millichap Research Services’ second quarter 2013 mid-year outlook for the national retail market and U.S. economy.

Toronto -- Sears Canada Inc. will enter into a series of transactions related to two stores within shopping centers co-owned by Oxford Properties Group and Alberta Investment Management Corporation that give the co-owners the right to require Sears Canada to vacate the properties by March 2014. The transactions, valued at $191 million, affect stores at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto and at Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga.

New York -- Washington, D.C. ranks as the nation’s hottest retail market, followed by Greater New York City, a leading developer told Chain Store Age in an exclusive video interview.

To see the interview with Inland Real Estate Group vice chairman Joe Cosenza, click here.

Seattle -- Outdoor retailer REI announced Thursday it will open two new stores in the spring, one in Flagstaff, Ariz., and the other in Columbus, Ohio.

New York -- Winick Realty Group has signed Adam Kruvant and Gary Krauss as brokers in its Cranford, N.J., branch.

Krauss comes to Winick with a background in retail supermarket operations and food and drugstore marketing. Kruvant came up through Winick’s Agent Training Program. He previously worked for Vanguard Realty.