By Steve McLinden, Contributor | Commerce + Communities TodayOctober 15, 2021 The first fully air conditioned mall in Houston has a new kind of cool. The 60-year-old PlazAmericas, one of the city’s first fortress malls is …

Phenix Salon Suites leased 7,500 square feet in Gateway Memorial City, at 947 Gessner, from MetroNational. It will be the second location for franchisees Greg and Susan Gordillo after opening in Katy in 2019. The business …

With an economy that is beginning to recover as more people become vaccinated, retail is recovering, too, in nearly all sectors. Jason Baker, principal at Houston-based commercial real estate firm Baker Katz, said he’s seeing retail …

At a time when commercial real estate professionals see promising COVID-19 metrics and a better-than-expected vaccine rollout as signs that the end of the pandemic is near, it’s natural to examine where some of the most …

Not much has changed – yet – on the mask front for retailers, many of which were re-evaluating their mask policies on Friday, a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased its guidelines. …

Seventy-foot spaceships and intergalactic tunnels now occupy a 40,000-square-foot space in Village at the West Oaks that once housed shelves brimming with bedding and home goods. Gone is traditional big-box retailer Bed Bath and Beyond, and …

While the pandemic has made it impossible for some retailers to stay in business, a new report suggests tens of thousands of retailers could disappear in the coming years. The problem, according to investment bank UBS, …

(Cover Photo: Carl Carlock, left, goes through the order line at Cleburne Cafeteria on Thursday, March 18, 2021 in Houston. The Restaurant has seen an increase in business by about 20 percent over the last month.) …

HOUSTON – As oil prices inch back up from a terrible year, and Covid vaccines offer hope that the pandemic will be beaten, Houston’s commercial real estate business is far from recovered. The city has more …

The Midtown Sears is being converted to a tech hub. Crews are tearing down the Memorial City Sears in West Houston. Now, the freestanding Sears on North Shepherd, the last active Sears department store in the …

HOUSTON – Travelers around Houston will notice a growing number of buildings and storefronts that are empty, and the pandemic slowdown is likely to change where and how we spend our money. By comparison: in March, …

As COVID-19 disrupts the American economy, healthcare system and way of life, retailers and restaurants — the commercial real estate users whose very profitability and essence thrive on social congregation — have already been pegged as …

Even after shelter-in-place mandates, Dallas-based Weitzman closed several retail leases using digital aids, spokesman Ian Pierce said. For example, Weitzman and a national insurance tenant signed a lease in March using digital signing tools, including digital …

“No one had a pandemic plan in place, but they are quickly developing them in terms of deep-cleaning methods and controlling crowds at essential-services retailers, which are actually thriving,” said Jeff Pandolfo, a leasing director for …

The Sears at Deerbrook and Willowbrook malls are reportedly closing, opening up a rare opportunity for the malls to redevelop a large portion of its retail space. The closures would join Sears locations that have shuttered …

Born and raised in Texas, a graduate of Texas A&M, and having spent 15 years serving retailers in the Houston market as a principal of the Baker Katz real estate brokerage, Jason Baker knows the Lone …

Academy Sports + Outdoors on Monday opened a store in Richmond with a revamped floor layout and design, part of the Katy athletic retailer’s initiative to improve customers’ shopping experience amid increasing brick-and-mortar and online competition. …

A persistent need for a tenant mix that is resistant to e-commerce and which facilitates a unique, authentic experience is prompting owners of older retail centers and malls to assume high levels of risk and redevelop their …

Jamba Juice’s new store at 9303 Highway 6 in Missouri City is one of nine locations in the Houston market.Photo: Jamba Juice Jamba Juice has opened at 9303 Highway 6, at the entrance of the Sienna …

GlobeSt.com catches up with Baker Katz executives on the popularity of utilizing geofencing to assist retailers with site selection and for shopping center awareness among other things in preparation for the upcoming ICSC RECon conference later …

The inclusion of boutique and independent retail has shifted from a curiosity to a priority. By Lunden McGill & Ben Brown, of Baker Katz. In cities around the country, growing numbers of developers are prioritizing the …

The 2018 edition of ICSC’s colossal RECon convention is gearing up and GlobeSt.com chats with a few expert sources on their expectations and predictions for the show. “At neighborhood strip malls and power centers, big box …

Open-air landlords report strong growth among mom-and-pops Small-shop tenants took a hit when credit dried up after the 2008 financial crisis. Now, a decade later, some landlords are reporting record-high occupancies and rents for these operators, …

H-E-B opened a multistory location in the Heights this week, and it is expected to significantly increase the appeal of the Shepherd corridor. The new 92K SF store, at 2300 North Shepherd Drive, includes a two-story parking structure, 50 bike-rack …

From first-to-market concepts to established chains, eateries and bars are propelling retail absorption in each of Texas’ major markets, say retail brokers. Over the past couple years, retail investors and developers have begun paying special attention …

Analysts worry the high amount of investment in self-storage properties may have outpaced demand for self-storage space, reports the Wall Street Journal. Forbes offers a 2019 real estate investment preview. These are among today’s must reads …

Lidl is tweaking its U.S. expansion strategy – By Beth Mattson-Teig   It has been nearly 18 months since German grocery giant Lidl opened its first U.S. stores and boldly announced plans to have about 100 …

Rtic Outdoors has designed a flagship store that’s just begging to be Instagramed. Customers are greeted by a 24-foot “R” inlaid with a polar bear, the company’s logo. A Ford F-150 truck, displaying coolers, is parked …

HighTower Texas signed a 16K SF lease for its headquarters to 4400 Post Oak Parkway in Houston. The wealth management firm committed to an eight-year lease to occupy the 26th floor and plans on expanding services in Houston. HighTower Texas …

The Houston grocery chain Randalls will shutter three more local stores by year’s end as the company continues to struggle in the region’s hyper-competitive market. Randalls, a unit of the national supermarket company Albertsons, said Tuesday …

Sears, an icon of American retail for more than a century, filed for bankruptcy protection early Monday morning, the latest casualty of the headwinds facing brick-and-mortar retailers. The embattled department store chain, once the world’s largest, …

Houston developers wrestle with complex regulatory issues in the 100- and 500-year floodplains. By Kenneth Katz & Neal Wade of Baker Katz The Houston metropolitan area was hit particularly hard by Hurricane Harvey, with a tropical …

As the industry goes into a new hurricane season, retail property owners and tenants have had nearly a year to evaluate their responses to last year’s trio of hurricanes, which caused a record $202 billion in …

For decades, Mardie Paige drove 10 minutes out of her neighborhood to shop at Kroger stores in nearby Heights and Oak Forest. There were no major grocery stores in the traditionally African-American neighborhood off the North Loop, …

Nearly a year ago, Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston-area residents with historic flooding. Houston Strong, the city’s rallying cry for recovery efforts, held true through the year since Harvey hit Texan land on Aug. 26, 2017. The city …

Several restaurant chains are heading out to southeast Houston near Baybrook Mall. Hopdoddy Burger Bar, Snooze, an A.M. Eatery, Mod Pizza and Main Squeeze Juice Co. inked leases at a new shopping center at 820 Bay …

With off-price player like Marshalls, T.J. Maxx, and Ross Stores entrenched as favored anchors for shopping centers, traditional anchors like Macy’s are finding it harder than they imagined to get in on the act. There’s more …

Luxury athletic clubs in the Houston area are bulking up in size and amenities, part of a national trend to capture the growth in fitness spending. Life Time just opened one of the region’s largest gyms, …

Download   Randalls — once the go-to store for grocery shopping in Houston — has been edged out over the years by its competitors offering lower prices and wider selections. The homegrown company, now a subsidiary …