Nordstrom to Open Four New Stores

Seattle-based Nordstrom Inc., a fashion speciality retailer, announced that it has signed letters of intent with a real estate investment trust to open three new Nordstrom stores and relocate one store in the United States. Under the agreement with Chicago-based General Growth Properties Inc., Nordstrom will open stores in Ohio, Missouri and Delaware, and also will relocate the company's current store at Fashion Place in Murray, Utah. The three new stores are expected to open in the Christiana Mall in Newark, Delaware; Saint Louis Galleria in St. Louis; and in the Kenwood Towne Centre in Cincinnati. The Nordstrom store in Murray, Utah, will be relocated to a new, larger store in spring 2009, and the current Nordstrom store will remain open until the new building is complete. Additionally, the Nordstrom store at Montclair Plaza in Montclair, Calif., will undergo a renovation. This renovation project is reportedly a part of a large-scale renovation and remodel of the entire shopping center beginning next year. General Growth Properties has an ownership interest in, or management responsibility for a portfolio of more than 200 shopping malls in 44 states, as well as ownership in planned community developments and commercial office buildings.