Home Depot is reaping the benefits of Americans’ increasing willingness to invest in home improvement projects. The retailer, which reported stronger-than-expected sales last month, upped its predicted earnings today for the second time in two months, the Associated Press reported. The company now pegs its expected income for fiscal 2010 to be $1.97 per share, up from its previous estimate of $1.94 per share. [more]

Related President Jeff Blau and the Gateway Center

Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market, a 1-million-square-foot, $500 million project, has been awarded LEED Silver certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, making it the second largest project to achieve core and shell LEED certification in the Northeast, according to its developer. Related Companies built the market as the first national retail complex in the Bronx. Gateway Center is 95 percent leased, 91 percent occupied and includes a mix of retailers and restaurants, including BJ’s, Home Depot, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Marshall’s, Raymour & Flanigan, Staples, Best Buy, Toys “R” Us and Applebee’s. The Gateway Center is expected to generate more than $20 million in annual tax and revenue for the city, and the project will create an estimated 2,100 permanent retail jobs and 2,900 union construction jobs in the South Bronx, Related says. TRD

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Related President Jeff Blau and the Gateway Center

Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market, a 1-million-square-foot, $500 million project, has been awarded LEED Silver certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, making it the second largest project to achieve core and shell LEED certification in the Northeast, according to its developer. Related Companies built the market as the first national retail complex in the Bronx. Gateway Center is 95 percent leased, 91 percent occupied and includes a mix of retailers and restaurants, including BJ’s, Home Depot, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Marshall’s, Raymour & Flanigan, Staples, Best Buy, Toys “R” Us and Applebee’s. The Gateway Center is expected to generate more than $20 million in annual tax and revenue for the city, and the project will create an estimated 2,100 permanent retail jobs and 2,900 union construction jobs in the South Bronx, Related says. TRD

[more]

Following the news that Morgan Stanley upgraded Home Depot stocks, CNBC sat down with two hardline retail experts to discuss what potential gains in home improvement stocks say about the housing market recovery. According to Stephen Chick, managing director of hardline retail at FBR Capital Markets, lumber prices are beginning to rebound — having seen price increases over the last two to four months not matched since 2004, and that could be a positive, though often-underestimated indicator for housing. Michael Lasser, vice president and senior research analyst of hardline retail at Barclays Capital, pointed to an increased demand for appliances. Lasser said it’s too soon to tell whether indicators from stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot mean a full-fledged recovery, but retailers are certainly benefiting from higher transactional volume, stemming from more people moving to new homes and doing improvements and repairs.

A number of regional, national and international retailers are set to open first outposts in New York City. Last week, Costco, the largest membership warehouse club in the world, opened its first location in Manhattan in the 500,000-square-foot East River Plaza. Target will open its first Manhattan store in the same plaza next year. Best Buy, Marshalls and New York City’s first Bob’s Discount Furniture will join them. Bob’s has 35 stores throughout New York, New Jersey and New England. In the fall it opened its newest location in Carle Place, LI. [more]

Rendering of the Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market

New York City-based discount department store Conway Stores has taken
18,000 square feet at the Related Companies Gateway Center at Bronx
Terminal Market, located near the new Yankee Stadium, bringing the
approximately 1 million-square-foot mall to 90 percent occupancy.  Abe
Cohen, president of Conway, and Adam Goldschmidt, Conway’s in-house
director of leasing, represented Conway in the deal. Peter Ripka of
Ripco Real Estate brokered the deal on behalf of Related. So far, two
stores have opened at the mall — Home Depot, on April 23, and Staples,
on June 6 — with the next tenant, Target, scheduled to open July 26.
Restaurant chain Applebee’s projects an opening of its location at the
mall at the end of August. [more]

From the May issue: Manhattan retailers are stuck between a rock and a hard place. The
continued freeze in consumer spending is forcing some retailers to do
the once-unthinkable: close desirable Manhattan locations, including
flagship stores — which are valued as much for the marketing boost they
provide by being located here as for their actual sales. Retailers, however, can’t just go dark, for they are often bound by
leases that render them unable to walk away without paying huge
penalties. As a result, high-profile national chains such as Ethan
Allen, Home Depot and Borders are turning to subleasing to unload
spaces that are prominent but costly. 

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