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MILLS TAKES ON FOREST FAIR

The Mills Corp. is buying the long-troubled Forest Fair Mall, Cincinnati, marking the first time the Arlington, Va.-based REIT has purchased a center for redevelopment. Mills paid Gator Investments, Miami, an undisclosed sum for the 1.5 million-square-foot property, although REIT analyst Matthew Ostrower, of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, told SCT he estimates Mills is paying $70 million for the property, and will spend another $70 million on its renovation. Forest Fair was plagued by cost overruns soon after it was opened in 1989 by Australia-based L.J. Hooker Corp. Lenders withdrew their support, and the center was on the market within three months. Hooker went bankrupt weeks later. In 1996 Gator bought the mall, which had stood half-empty through much of the early 1990s. Forest Fair is currently 73 percent leased with 48 stores, including an Off 5th Saks Fifth Avenue Outlet and a Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World.

KIMCO ATTEMPTS TO ENTER MEXICO

Kimco Realty Corp. plans to make its first foray into Mexico by purchasing two, and possibly more, shopping centers there. Company executives say they are working to close a joint venture this month with General Electric Capital Corp. to buy a center in Monterrey and another in Saltillo. With the stabilization of its economy, Mexico has grown increasingly attractive to retail real estate developers and retail chains, both domestic and foreign. Others that have entered the market include Chelsea Property Group, The Home Depot; Sears, Roebuck and Co.; Wal-Mart Stores; and Zara.

MARKS & SPENCER LEAVES U.S.

British retail giant Marks & Spencer is completing its exit from the U.S. market, selling Kings Super Markets, its remaining asset, to Larchmont, N.Y.-based D’Agostino Supermarkets. The $160 million deal raises D’Agostino’s New York City-area store count from 20 to 49. M&S, which bought Parsippany, N.J.-based Kings in 1988 for $113 million, has been trying to sell it since 1999. Troubled by plummeting sales in Europe and the United Kingdom in recent years, M&S sold Brooks Brothers for $225 million last November.

DUNKIN’ DONUTS RETURNS TO CALIFORNIA

Dunkin’ Donuts left California in the early 1990s after failing to interest customers in its gourmet coffee. Now it is giving the state another shot. Randolph, Mass.-based Dunkin’ Donuts, one of the nation’s largest doughnut chains, opened a 3,500-square-foot store in Sacramento in August and plans to open an additional 50 to 60 stores in that city alone over the next three years. The company hopes other markets will follow.

SEPHORA LEAVES ROCKEFELLER CENTER

Cosmetics chain Sephora is vacating its U.S. flagship location in New York City’s Rockefeller Center, making way for retailer Façonnable this month. Some see Sephora’s exit from the prestigious landmark as emblematic of its financial struggles. Sephora, owned by French conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, has seven remaining locations in the New York City area and 70 elsewhere in the United States.