The Shopping Center Group is seeing activity perk up a bit in 2013 following several years of sluggishness in the local retail market due to the recent recession.

“It is definitely a lot better than it was two to three years ago. We are busier than we were then,” said Danny Buring, managing partner of The Shopping Center Group’s Memphis office.

2. Drugstore Corridor - Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Walgreen Co. is building a new store on Poplar Avenue in East Memphis amid some of the most important and valuable commercial real estate in the city.

3. Retail Therapy - Monday, November 26, 2012

The retail business has been described in recent times as Darwinian in nature to those in the industry, meaning formats come and go as competition intensifies each year.

That concept is apparent in retail chains having trouble finding the best real estate for new locations as antiquated strip centers retain high vacancies. Or in the resurgence of upscale retailers, while dollar stores are simultaneously expanding at a rapid clip.

4. New Panera Underscores Midtown’s ‘Tipping Point’ - Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Panera Bread Co. is coming to one of Midtown’s busiest streets following years of site selection in the area.

5. Free People Set to Open in Saddle Creek - Friday, September 14, 2012

Free People, a high-end women’s retailer of apparel and other items, will open at The Shops of Saddle Creek in Germantown on Friday, Sept. 14.

The Philadelphia-based retailer fills part of the space formerly occupied by Gap, in between the new Brighton Collectibles and Anthropologie. The location marks Free People’s second boutique in Tennessee, after a location in Nashville.

6. Free People to Open in Saddle Creek - Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Free People, a high-end women’s retailer of apparel and other items, will open at The Shops of Saddle Creek in Germantown on Friday, Sept. 14.

The location marks the Philadelphia-based retailer’s second boutique in Tennessee, after a location in Nashville. The 2,000-square-foot space will feature a “Blacksmith Cottage” concept, the brand’s second store with this design, and the first of its kind in the U.S.

7. Free People to Open in Saddle Creek - Thursday, September 13, 2012

Free People, a high-end women’s retailer of apparel and other items, will open at The Shops of Saddle Creek in Germantown on Friday, Sept. 14.

The Philadelphia-based retailer fills part of the space formerly occupied by Gap, in between the new Brighton Collectibles and Anthropologie. The location marks Free People’s second boutique in Tennessee, after a location in Nashville.

8. Market Entrance - Thursday, August 16, 2012

The quick-service food concept Panda Express has entered the Memphis retail market on the city’s highest-trafficked surface street.

The Chinese restaurant chain will open a 2,665-square-foot new prototype store in Cordova in early September at 577 Germantown Parkway in front of Walmart Supercenter.

9. Poplar Transformation - Monday, July 09, 2012

Two big retail deals have recently been inked on the Poplar Avenue corridor, soon filling empty spaces on the city’s busiest street.

A new Family Dollar is going in the old Stringer’s Garden Center site at 2974 Poplar, while Office Depot and Hollywood Feed are going in the former Samuel’s Furniture space at 5502-5510 Poplar, near South Yates Road.

10. Former Cleo Site Sells For $2.6M - Friday, March 16, 2012

A Memphis-based buyer has bought more than 1 million square feet formerly occupied by Cleo Inc. gift-wrapping company in Airport Industrial Park Section A for less than two-thirds of the listing price.

11. Benz Repair Shop to Open On Cooper St. - Friday, March 09, 2012

A high-end automobile maintenance and repair shop soon will be added to Cooper-Young’s booming portfolio of local businesses.

Shane Herbers, founder of Midtown Motor Werks, has leased 5,000 square feet at 795 S. Cooper St. from Richard Sullivan.

12. Riding High - Friday, March 09, 2012

The traditional enclosed shopping mall is supposedly a retail relic, a throwback to the days when most consumer buying activity occurred behind bricks and mortar.

Fifteen years after it opened, though, Wolfchase Galleria is still holding on, maintaining a high occupancy rate, bringing on innovative concepts that fit into the mall’s existing mix and having recently announced a group of new tenants.

13. ‘Get In and Out’ - Monday, December 19, 2011

In a local commercial real estate market where prices have plunged as much as 40 percent from 2007 peaks, special service companies are taking advantage of opportunities for buying distressed debt.

14. Hacks Cross Center Sells For $1 Million - Friday, June 17, 2011

A shopping center in the Southeast submarket has traded hands. AAK Ventures LLC acquired the 10,500-square-foot Players Crossing Retail Center, 3285 Hacks Cross Road, from BancorpSouth for $1 million.

15. Ridgeway Trace’s Success Fills ‘Huge Void’ - Monday, May 16, 2011

A dramatic change to the retail landscape in East Memphis began in February of 2005 with one phone call.

Danny Buring, managing partner of The Shopping Center Group, made that call to the owner of the Ridgeway Trace Apartments, located on the southeast corner of Poplar Avenue and Interstate 240.

16. Retail Rebound? - Monday, December 27, 2010

Retail sales are looking bright this year, a sign that the pendulum of consumer confidence is swinging back in the right direction.

Holiday sales are anticipated to increase a modest 3.3 percent this year – adjusted from 2.3 percent in November – according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). This year’s uptick follows 2008’s 3.9 percent decline and also tops the 10-year average holiday sales increase of 2.5 percent.

17. Cheddar’s Casual Café Comes to Memphis - Friday, December 03, 2010

Cheddar’s Casual Café has recently filed for a $1.4 million building permit for about 8,600 square feet at 7684 Winchester Road in Michael Lightman Realty Co.’s Centennial Commons development.

18. Real Estate Recycling - Monday, November 08, 2010

If sustainability is defined as reuse of land and/or structures for new purposes, Hickory Hill may be the capital of the concept in Memphis.

Consider New Direction Christian Church, which found a home in a vacant big box store and now plans to transform a vacant and blighted apartment complex into a charter middle and high school with a performing arts center. The bulldozers began demolishing the Marina Cove apartments complex last month.

19. Chipotle to Open First Memphis Locale - Friday, November 05, 2010

A Mexican eatery will be the latest tenant to occupy space in one of Memphis’ most populated areas, where it is joining several corporate retail giants.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. has leased 2,400 square feet of space in Ridgeway Trace center, 5963 Poplar Ave. It will be Denver-based Chipotle’s first Memphis-area restaurant.

20. Kent H. Landsberg Co. Doubles Space - Friday, October 08, 2010

Kent H. Landsberg Co. has finally inked a deal that had been in the works for quite some time.

Landsberg, a packaging, janitorial and food service shipping supply company, stayed in Memphis and expanded when it purchased Wurzburg Inc., a Memphis-based provider of supply-chain logistics and packaging.

21. Two More Tenants Join Ridgeway Trace - Friday, August 13, 2010

Weingarten Realty Investors on Thursday announced the addition of two tenants – Yogurt Mountain and SportClips – to its Ridgeway Trace retail center at Poplar Avenue and Interstate 240.

Yogurt Mountain will lease 1,500 square feet and SportClips will lease 1,125 square feet, officials with Houston-based Weingarten said in a release.

22. A Sense of Place - Monday, July 26, 2010

June West was born with a proverbial thick skin. She said her parents blessed her with an uncanny ability to take criticism in stride, an important trait for anyone who faces the verbal abuse that West routinely absorbs as executive director of the nonprofit Memphis Heritage Inc.

23. Target Bolsters Local Presence - Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Target Corp. wants more of its Memphis-area customers to be able to add beer and additional grocery items to shopping lists that already include the chain’s home accessories and latest fashions.

24. Midtown Target - Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Two years ago this month, awed silence greeted real estate developer Tom Marsh as he clicked through slides and walked a neighborhood group through his team’s plan.

25. Crews Buys Collierville Hampton - Tuesday, May 25, 2010

1280 W. Poplar Ave.
Collierville, TN 38017
Sale Amount: $5.1 Million

Sale Date: May 11, 2010
Buyer: SGR LLC
Seller: Collierville Hotels GP
Loan Amount: $3.8 million
Loan Date: May 11, 2010
Maturity Date: May 11, 2015
Lender: First Citizens National Bank

26. Weingarten Files Permits for Ridgeway Trace Pads - Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Houston-based Weingarten Realty has filed building permits with the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement to construct three structures at its 300,000-square-foot Ridgeway Trace retail development at Poplar Avenue and Interstate 240.

27. Midtown Big-Box Site Not Dead – Yet - Monday, March 29, 2010

Friday’s foreclosure notice announcing a sale on the courthouse steps of dozens of Midtown properties where a long-awaited mixed-use project has been planned for years is not an automatic death knell for the development.

28. Facelift Planned for Colonial Target - Friday, January 22, 2010

A popular but aged East Memphis shopping destination is finally getting a much-needed makeover.

Minneapolis-based Target Corp. has filed a $2.5 million building permit with the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement to renovate and slightly expand its 30-year-old, 122,857-square-foot store at 601 Colonial Road in the East Central/Poplar Perkins area of East Memphis.

29. Conwood Buys Hickory Hill Facility For Planned $133 Million Expansion - Tuesday, November 17, 2009

5106 Tradeport Drive
Memphis, TN 38141
Sale Amount: $19.3 Million

Sale Date: Nov. 5, 2009
Buyer: Conwood Co. LLC
Seller: Chickasaw and Goodman Realty Holding Co.
Details: Conwood Co. LLC on Nov. 5 formally acquired the 787,500-square-foot facility at 5106 Tradeport Drive in Hickory Hill South for $19.3 million. Conwood earlier this year announced plans to buy the building, where it will expand its manufacturing operation of the smokeless tobacco products Kodiak and Grizzly.

30. Cypress Buys T-Mobile’s Union Avenue Store - Monday, November 16, 2009

Memphis-based Cypress Realty Holdings Co., a private real estate investment trust managed by Joe Jarratt and Price Ford, has bought the retail/billboard site at 1860 Union Ave. in Midtown for $950,000. Operating in the transaction as Cypress Realty Holdings Co. II LLC, the company acquired the property Nov. 10 from Louisville, Ky.-based Elvi Partners LLC.

31. Retailers With Strong Local Ties Report Losses - Thursday, November 13, 2008

More signs of economic woe appeared Wednesday with news of sagging sales from retail behemoths Macy’s Inc. and Best Buy Co., both of which have a significant presence in Memphis.

32. Tight Times in RE Market In Spite of High-Dollar Deal - Thursday, March 27, 2008

Even though StoneCrest Investors LLC just unloaded $55.2 million worth of Cordova real estate, the Round Rock, Texas-based development company remains committed to the area, company CEO Brad Smith said this week.

33. $55M Transaction Lifts Commercial RE - Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Shelby County's sluggish commercial real estate market got a boost when a portfolio that includes Cordova's Countrywood Crossing shopping center and Dick's Sporting Goods sold to an out-of-town real estate investor for $55.2 million.

34. Big-Picture Economics Topic Of Property Summit - Tuesday, February 19, 2008

A host of experts will discuss the bigger picture of the U.S. and global economies as well as local real estate matters at this week's Commercial Property Forecast summit, hosted by the Memphis Area Association of Realtors' Commercial Council.

35. Local Investors Plan Changes For Retail Center in C'ville Corridor - Tuesday, January 22, 2008

679 W. Poplar Ave.
Collierville, TN 38017
Sale Amount: $1.9 million

Sale Date: Jan. 14, 2008

Buyer: JW-Collierville LLC, PC-Collierville LLC, DB-Collierville LLC and SG-Collierville LLC (as tenants in common)

36. Kroger Latest Business to Leave Hickory Hill - Tuesday, January 15, 2008

For years, Hickory Hill residents have watched the neighborhood slowly decline as one business after another leaves.

Along the stretch of Winchester Road between Hickory Hill and Riverdale roads, a number of businesses have moved out, including Smokey Bones Barbeque & Grill, CompUSA and Fisherman's Buffet, among others.

37. Change of Face - Friday, March 30, 2007

Editor's Note: This is the last in The Daily News' five-part Retail Reinvented series about the past - and future - of the local shopping landscape.

Most shoppers only vaguely remember the days when Carrefour at Kirby Woods, Germantown Village Square and Park Place Mall were enclosed shopping centers. Most of the malls opened in the late 1970s or early 1980s, and all had converted to outdoor malls by 1999.

38. Malled by the Competition - Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Editor's note: This is the third in The Daily News' five-part Retail Reinvented series about the past - and future - of the local shopping landscape.

Pat Jacobs knows a thing or two about Memphis malls. He served as general manager of Southland Mall for 18 years before taking the same job at Hickory Ridge Mall in 2003.

39. Former Kmarts, Cordova Shopping Center Have New Options With New Plan - Thursday, March 01, 2007

When New Plan Excel Realty Trust Inc. and Sears Holdings Corp. set up a joint development venture in 2005, the venture's first deal involved transforming three former Kmart stores in Memphis.

Sears had closed the stores in 2005, citing their under-performance. Since then, Sears' partner in its development venture - a New York real estate investment trust (REIT) with assets of about $3.5 billion - has more than lived up to its name.

40. Lookin' Good - Friday, February 02, 2007

The high-end cosmetics store whose name reportedly is derived from the Greek word for beauty is poised to bring a new fragrance to the Memphis market this year.

Sephora - the skin care and beauty chain that operates more than 500 stores in 14 countries - is entering the Memphis market in the coming months with the launch of stores in two of the city's premier shopping centers.

41. You Better Shop Around - Thursday, September 07, 2006

Seattle-based Nordstrom Inc. has Memphis on its radar as a possible home for one of its upscale department stores within the $100 million Forest Hill Plaza commercial development being built at the intersection of Winchester and Forest Hill-Irene roads.

42. Gordmans to Anchor Centennial Place - Tuesday, December 20, 2005

10.62 acres near
Winchester Road
Cost: $12 million

Borrower: Centennial Place Co.

Lender: 1st Trust Bank for Savings FSB

43. Area Retail Market Sees Momentary Slowdown - Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Not since the first quarter of 2004 has the Memphis retail real estate market shown such unimpressive numbers - vacancies are up while lease rates, construction and quarterly absorption are down from last year.

44. Large-Scale Developments Help Draw New Retailers - Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Having a metro population that ranked 44th in the 2000 U.S. Census can be challenging when it comes to attracting new retailers, but several new developments opening in the Memphis area are broadening its retail landscape.

45. Archived Article: Lead - Thursday, April 28, 2005
By Andy Meek

Germantown Parkway Gets More Retail

Parkway Collection to resemble nearby center

ANDY MEEK

The Daily News

More retail options are getting set to open along Germantown Parkway, joining scores of shopping centers, stores an...

46. Archived Article: Lead - Friday, February 18, 2005
Retail Growth Will Continue Even After Construction

New Malls to Drive Further Retail Growth

Big-box, small stores to follow large-scale centers

LANCE ALLAN

The Daily News

The Metro Memphis retail landscape is about to see major chang...

47. Archived Article: Lead - Monday, February 14, 2005
Ethan Allen to Relocate Near Wolfchase

Ethan Allen Picks Site Near Wolfchase

Furniture store to relocate to growing retail center

LANCE ALLAN

The Daily News

Its new home will be just a few blocks north of its current location, but whe...

48. Archived Article: Trends - Monday, February 07, 2005
By Andy Meek

Developers Foresee Year of Urban Reinvestment

ANDY MEEK

The Daily News

The waiting list for a new 200-lot development on Mud Island speaks for itself.

A sense of urgency. More than 400 people are vying for one of develope...

49. Archived Article: Real - Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Commercial Realtors Depending on Internet

Internet Makes Impact on Commercial Sales

LANCE ALLAN

The Daily News

The day real estate professionals arent needed to help buyers and sellers complete real estate transactions will probably neve...

50. Archived Article: Lead - Monday, December 13, 2004
Retailers Moving to Whitehaven

Large-Scale Retail Heads for Whitehaven

Wal-Mart spawns further development in underserved area

LANCE ALLAN

The Daily News

When Wal-Mart Supercenter opens its doors in Whitehaven next year, it will mark ...

51. Archived Article: Real - Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Major Outdoor Retailer Coming to Hacks Cross Area

Winchester Corridor Continues to Expand

LANCE ALLAN

The Daily News

A national outdoors retailer is preparing to enter the Memphis market, choosing a thriving stretch of Winchester Road fo...

52. Archived Article: Trends Focus - Monday, September 27, 2004
By Andy Meek

Large Retailers Look Within City Limits

ANDY MEEK

The Daily News

As customer demographics shift, large retail operations once known for dominating suburban markets are becoming a more familiar sight in urban areas.

And re...

53. Archived Article: Annex (lead) - Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Annexation Affects More Than Residents

Rising Taxes Hit Commercial Properties

Landlords adjust to annexation-driven tax increases

LANCE ALLAN

The Daily News

When an unincorporated area of Shelby County is annexed by the city of Memphi...

54. Archived Article: Hh Retail (lead) - Monday, June 07, 2004
Hickory Hill

As Hickory Hill Evolves, Retailers Adapt

Stores shift focus to local, not regional, shoppers

LANCE ALLAN

The Daily News

It wasnt so long ago that Metro Memphis had two major retail centers, each anchored by a sparkling ne...

55. Archived Article: Desoto (lead) - Monday, May 24, 2004
DeSoto retail

DeSoto County to Become Retail Hub

Developers cash in on areas residential, economic growth

LANCE ALLAN

The Daily News

DeSoto County has made a name for itself in recent years as a distribution hub, with companies increa...

56. Archived Article: Real Focus - Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Real

Winchester: Not Another Germantown Parkway

LANCE ALLAN

The Daily News

Germantown Parkway, once a road without any reason for stoplights, now has too many to count, due in large part to commercial development that has taken place in ...

57. Archived Article: Coll Retail (lead) - Monday, May 17, 2004
Lead

Collierville Experiences Retail Boom

Open-air mall brings new development south of Poplar

LANCE ALLAN

The Daily News

When Cousins Properties Inc. and Jim Wilson & Associates Inc. purchased 135 acres of land for the much-talke...

58. Archived Article: Newsmakers - Wednesday, April 21, 2004
(e-photo) Virginia M

Memphis Area Legal Services Hires Staff Attorney

Virginia M. Alexander was hired as a staff attorney with Memphis Area Legal Services Inc. to work on MALS family/domestic violence project. Alexander previously was a sole p...

59. Archived Article: Real Briefs - Tuesday, June 17, 2003
The Memphis Certified Commercial Investment Member

The Memphis Certified Commercial Investment Member monthly luncheon is 11:45 a.m. today at the former Disney Store in Hickory Ridge Mall, 6075 Winchester Road. The luncheon focus is Retail Market...

60. Archived Article: Shopping (lead) - Monday, May 12, 2003
New center a boon to residential boom

New center a boon to residential boom

By STACEY WIEDOWER

The Daily News

Construction is nearing completion on a 25,000-square-foot shopping center at Houston Levee and Macon roads in Cordova.

The ...

61. Archived Article: Real Briefs - Tuesday, April 01, 2003
Crye-Leike Realtors

Crye-Leike Realtors concluded its 2002 United Way Workplace Campaign by raising a total of $60,739 to support United Way agencies in 32 counties in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Georgia.

Since becoming a partner with...

62. Archived Article: Real Focus - Tuesday, December 17, 2002
Retail sector a beacon in dreary 2002 real estate market

Retail sector a beacon in dreary 2002 real estate market

By STACEY WIEDOWER

The Daily News

As far as Memphis real estate is concerned, 2002 has seen sluggish office market growth, ...

63. Archived Article: 01building (lead) - Thursday, January 31, 2002
2001 new building falls drastically from year before 2001 commercial construction falls drastically By SUE PEASE The Daily News The number of building permits filed for new commercial construction fell by almost half last year compared to the number...

64. Archived Article: Cville (lead) - Friday, January 04, 2002
Open-air mall in works for Collierville Open-air mall planned for Collierville By SUE PEASE The Daily News If planning comes to fruition, a more than 1 million-square-foot mall could make its home in Collierville. A shopping center developer based i...

65. Archived Article: Marketplace (mall) - Monday, July 24, 2000
Wolfchase area building to beat of different drum Wolfchase area building to beat of different drum By KATHLEEN BURT The Daily News When Wolfchase Galleria opened its doors in 1997, retailers large and small couldnt wait to grab their bit of heaven ...