The Howard Hughes Corp. has named David R. Weinreb to serve as the company's CEO and Grant Herlitz to the post of president. Weinreb and Herlitz have been working for the company on a contract basis since August 2010.
Howard Hughes Corp. Chairman William A. Ackman said in a statement, "David assembled an exceptional team of real estate professionals who quickly evaluated our assets and prepared the company to emerge as an independent entity. David and Grant form an entrepreneurial leadership team that is tailor made for our needs. Bringing them on board gives us the benefit of their knowledge of our portfolio and allows the company to focus on maximizing the value of its assets for the benefit of our shareholders."
Weinreb currently serves as chairman and CEO of TPMC Realty Corp., a real estate investment firm headquartered in Dallas. During his 17-year career as CEO of TPMC, Weinreb specialized in acquiring and repositioning underperforming real estate assets.
Herlitz served as CFO, and more recently as President of TPMC, where he managed various aspects of the company's finance, investment, accounting, and leasing operations over his ten-year tenure with company.
Weinreb and Herlitz were named the posts as a result of an unanimous election by Howard Hughes’ board of directors. Prior to their election, Weinreb and Herlitz entered into agreements to purchase seven-year warrants for $17 million on approximately 2.7 million HHC common shares at $42.23 per share, the closing sales price for HHC common stock on November 19, 2010, the last full trading day prior to agreement on the terms of the warrants.
The warrants are designed to be illiquid and are not exercisable for six years except in the event of a change of control, termination of the executive without cause, or the separation of the executive from the company for good reason. In addition, for the first six years of the warrants' term, each executive is prohibited from selling, hedging, or otherwise reducing his net long exposure to the shares underlying the warrants.
Weinreb and Herlitz will assume their positions effective immediately.
Equity One Completes Entitlements for New York Project
Equity One Inc. announced that the town of Hempstead, N.Y. has approved the site plan for 330,000-square-foot The Gallery at Westbury Plaza.
Construction will commence in 2011 with a grand opening expected in fall 2012. The Gallery at Westbury Plaza will be developed on a site located adjacent to Westbury Plaza, a 400,000-square-foot center Equity One acquired in November 2009.
Podlin International to Develop New Mixed-Use Center in Virginia
Podlin International Realty Ltd. will develop Grundy Town Center, a mixed-use open-air center in Grundy, Va. A 110,000-square foot Walmart Supercenter will serve as the anchor for the development, which will also include 50,000 square feet of shop space. The project is scheduled to open in August 2011.
DDR Adds hhgregg to Two Properties
Developers Diversified Realty Corp. signed two deals with hhgregg. The electronics retailer opened a 36,459-square-foot store at Carillon Place in Naples, Fla. and a 28,152-square-foot store at Peach Street Square in Erie, Pa.
LA Fitness Signs New Lease in Michigan
LA Fitness signed a 50,000-square-foot lease with DBSI Fairlane Green LLC for space at 3223 Fairlane Drive in Allen Park, Mich. Tony Schmitt and Bill LaKritz, of LaKritz-Weber & Co. , represented the tenant in the transaction. Brad Rosenberg, of Landmark Commercial Real Estate Services, represented the landlord.
Arhaus Furniture Takes 32,000-SF Space in New York City
Arhaus Furniture has signed a lease with Taconic Investment Partners for 32,000 square feet of space at 15 Little West 12 in New York City. Robert K. Futterman, Karen Bellantoni and Brandon Singer, of Robert K. Futterman & Associates (RKF), represented the landlord in the transaction. Robert Cohen and Peter Whitenack, of RKF, along with Jeff Mason, of Mason Retail Group, represented the tenant. Arhaus plans to open its new store in the second quarter of 2011.
Englewood Completes Projects for Sears, American Girl
Englewood Construction completed a 9,000-square-foot store for American Girl at Overland Park Mall in Overland Park, Kan. The company also completed the exterior renovation of two Sears stores in Chicago and Niles, Ill. The renovations included repainting, the installation of new windows, updated lighting and exterior wall cladding systems.
Other Notable News
Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services promoted Bill Rose to Western regional director of its national retail group. Rose will also continue to serve as sales manager in the firm’s San Diego office. Rose joined Marcus & Millichap in 2003 as a retail and multifamily investment specialist.
Cassidy Turley BRE Commercial hired Kevin Cassidy to serve as a retail tenant representative. Cassidy has more than 25 years of experience in retail tenant representation. Prior to joining Cassidy Turley, he worked at Epsteen & Associates.
Coyote Management L.P. hired Debora M. Overholt as general manager for Lakeshore Mall, a 517,153-square-foot center in Gainesville, Ga. Prior to joining Coyote Management, Overholt served as general partner with Overholt Real Estate Services.