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Men's Wearhouse Identifies 145 Stores for Probable Closure
During 2009, Men's apparel retail chain, Men's Wearhouse, opened 6 new, but closed 41 stores. Due to geographic overlap caused by its 2006 acquisition of the AfterHours Formalwear chain, the company has identified 145 stores that it would likely close...

Updated: Pershing Square & Fairholme Capital Offer $3.925B to General Growth
General Growth Properties (NYSE:GGP) announced that a joint venture between Pershing Square Capital Management and Fairholme Capital Management said they would commit $3.925 billion of new equity capital, at a value of $15.00 per share, to facilitate...

American Eagle Shuttering 28 MARTIN +OSA stores
Pittsburgh, PA-based specialty apparel retailer, American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO), is shuttering its MARTIN + OSA banner, including its 28 stores and online business. The company expects to conclude the liquidation of the MARTIN + OSA stores, which...

Thinning Loan Loss Coffers May Restrict CRE Lending
In addition to keeping an eye on declining property values, falling rents and rising vacancy rate numbers, the commercial real estate community is also concerned over ominous signs in banking industry numbers. One big area of concern is the fact that...

Investors Picking Up Unfinished Condo Projects
LeaseFlorida LLC in Miami Lakes, FL, foreclosed on two failed residential condominium projects. In the first deal, Cypress Bay condo project in the Sunset Harbor area of Miami Beach. Cypress Bay was a planned 20-unit with ground floor retail at 1225...

Bank Watch: Building a New Banking Company Out of Distress
One Main Street LLC, a New York-based investment fund, agreed to acquire tiny Liberty Bank Inc. of Salt Lake City. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. One Main Street has filed an application to become a bank holding company with the...

Recent Improvement in CRE Liquidity Welcomed, But Loan Maturities Loom Large
Commercial real estate lending has tentatively started to flow, but as any building owner will attest, credit isn't easy to obtain and the onslaught of maturing commercial mortgages is chipping away at the confidence of investors. The challenges to...

Lease Up/Lease Down (Mar. 7-13): UBS Renews, Postal Service Unveils 10-Year Plan
CoStar compiles news of corporate expansions, relocations, extensions, closures, layoffs, lease cancellations and mergers in the weekly Lease Up/Lease Down news report, a concise read keeping you updated on major corporate moves affecting commercial...

Shopping Center Execs Voice Improving Confidence Despite Major Challenges
The International Council of Shopping Centers' (ICSC) latest Shopping Center Executive Survey showed that shopping center executives' confidence in the present economic situation and expectations for the future, while muted, are better and improving....

NEW PLAYER: Cassidy Turley's Mark Burkhart On Launching a Major New CRE Firm
Eight regional commercial real estate firms that teamed up to become one in January officially launched as Cassidy Turley on March 1. The firms comprising Cassidy Turley include Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers in Washington, DC, Colliers Turley Martin Tucker...