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BRIEFLY NOTED

Simon dials for AT&T

In its latest joint-marketing deal, Simon Property Group reached a deal with AT&T Corp., Basking Ridge, N.J., in March that will allow the telecommunications giant to advertise AT&T phone service in 135 of the Indianapolis-based developers 240 malls. The deal will also allow shoppers to sign up for phone service at malls, and redeem AT&T long distance charges for points in Simon's frequent-shopper program, MALLPeRKS. Terms were not disclosed.

Construction starts drop

The bad news: Retail construction starts fell sharply in February, according to monthly figures from F.W. Dodge, Lexington, Mass. The good news: The slowdown should reverse the effects of an expected shortage of space demand in 2000, analysts said. Retail building starts declined 19% in January to an annualized pace of 240.1 million square feet, the steepest drop since September 1996. But a March report from New York-based Paine Webber noted that the slowdown could help reverse the effects of a decreased demand for space expected next year.

Britons flock to Bluewater

Shoppers packed the new Bluewater megamall on the outskirts of London in March, snapping souvenir photographs and visiting the 1.6 million-square-foot center's more than 320 shops and restaurants. Built on the site of a former chalk quarry by the Australian property firm Lend Lease for almost $600 million, Bluewater is billed as the largest shopping center in Europe, and possibly the last major suburban mall to be built in Britain as a result of a 1993 ban on new out-of-town developments.

Kollmann comes to the United States

Citing its growing base of U.S. developments, Wiesbaden, Germany-based mall developer Kollmann AG has established Kollmann USA in Atlanta. Former Georgia Gov. Zell Miller has been named chairman of the subsidiary, which will focus on new development in the Southeast. William F. "Trey" Freeman III has been named CEO.

Prada heads south

Trendy Italian designer Prada is heading south in New York -- to Soho. The Madison Avenue mainstay has signed a 15-year lease for 24,500 square feet at the corner of Prince Street and Broadway. The neighborhood is home to such chains as Kenneth Cole, Nine West and Banana Republic, as well as Prada's lower-end Miu Miu and Prada Sport. But the new store is the first high-end designer boutique in the area. The store will open later this year. Locally based Robert K. Futterman & Associates and Isaacs & Co. arranged the deal.

Restoring a site for Restoration

The second Manhattan location for Restoration Hardware, the chain that wants your home to look like a Victorian manor, couldn't be more perfect: a landmark former post office building built in 1920. The Corte Madera, Calif.-based chain will spend about $1 million to restore the building's exterior, under plans approved by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, according to The New York Times.The 24,000-square-foot space will open later this year on Prince Street in Soho. The post office will continue to operate in a smaller portion of the building until it finds a permanent home elsewhere in the neighborhood.

Correction

SCT's March profile of Mississippi misidentified David Belew's firm. He is a commercial specialist with Coldwell Banker Alfonso Realty in Gulfport, Miss.