NEW YORK CITY-The lion's share of Manhattan's largest lease deals during the first six months of this year were new leases or expansions. In fact, only three of the top 10 commercial office leases during that six-month period were lease renewals, according to the CoStar Group Inc.'s top 50 Manhattan leases for the first two quarters of 2013.

LOWER MERION, PA-A preliminary plan to build a new 45,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market was endorsed by a key committee and is scheduled for a final vote on August 1 by the Board of Commissioners here.

MONTVALE, NJ-Locally headquartered The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. has hired investment bank Credit Suisse to explore “strategic alternatives” that could include the sale of well-known grocer.

FORT LEE, NJ-Despite some criticism from some circles, Fort Lee is moving ahead with a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement for a future 16-story, 140-unit high-rise that will be Fort Lee's first special needs housing development.

BETHESDA, MD-First Potomac Realty Trust reports it has expanded its Board of Trustees and appointed Thomas E. Robinson, a senior advisor to real estate investment banking firm Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc., to its Board of Trustees.

WHITE PLAINS, NY-GHP Office Realty reports it has leased a total of nearly 92,000 square feet of office space at its 131 Danbury Road Building in Wilton, CT and its Ramland Road Corporate Park in Orangeburg, NY.

NEW YORK CITY-Northern Trust has signed a lease for 25,000 square feet of office space at 40 West 57th Street and will move its headquarters from 65 East 55th St. by the end of this year.

NEW YORK CITY-IDEO, a global design consulting firm, is moving its operations to 28,500 square feet of space at 408 Broadway.