One of the highest-profile centers it is building, the600,000-sf Shops at Midtown Miami (FL), has had "unprecedentedtenant interest," said Scott Wolstein, the company's chairman andCEO, during a conference call with analysts and investors. Thecompany expects to open that center in the fall of 2006. During itslast quarter, DDR broke ground on two centers, one in Freehold, NJ,the other in San Antonio.

Retailers are expanding and putting their new concepts into DDRcenters, Wolstein says. J.C. Penney and Sears, Roebuck & Co.are both opening their off-mall stores in DDR's open-airdevelopments. Gap will open its first yet-to-be-named storetargeting women over 35 in a DDR center, Wolstein says. Among theother retailers he mentioned that are expanding in the company'sportfolio include Aeropostale, Williams-Sonoma's West Elm conceptand Yankee Candle Co. "Their appetite for our product continues togrow unabated," Wolstein said of the retailers.

By the end of the quarter DDR had closed on its acquisition of104 out of the 110 centers announced in March as part ifacquisition of a Benderson Development Co. portfolio. DDR sold sixnon-core assets during the quarter for $26.8 million.