Stiles Realty Associate Jill Gull announced today that Red Willow Plaza in Winter Springs, Fla., a submarket of Orlando, continues to bring more options to local consumers with the planned opening of three national chains. Supercuts will celebrate its grand opening on Friday, August 23, at the shopping center situated at 5900 Red Bug Lake Road, while The Fresh Market and Party City plan to open new stores within the next six months.

Along with Gull, Stiles Vice President Ryan Karlin represented the owner in the lease transactions totaling more than 36,000 square feet within the last six months. “We are excited about the momentum building at Red Willow Plaza,” said Gull. “This new round of leases demonstrates the high level of retailer activity in this particular submarket. Red Willow Plaza is undergoing a major transition into a grocery-anchored center from a fitness-anchored center. With that, we are seeing increased interest from strong national and regional brands due to its curb appeal and surrounding predominately affluent market.”

Continuing with expansion plans across Florida, specialty grocer The Fresh Market will open its 36th store in the state at Red Willow Plaza in first quarter 2014, following previously announced stores in Orlando, Naples, Brandon and Delray Beach. The 21,000-square-foot lease represents the lead anchor at the plaza with 14,000-square-foot Party City and the existing 9,000-square-foot Carrabba’s Italian Grill as the junior anchors.

“Thanks in part to increased consumer confidence, the retail market is seeing ten­ants take flight to quality premium locations,” said Gull. “With a dense daytime population and a diverse tenant mix, Red Willow Plaza has experienced positive absorption and stable vacancy.”

Red Willow Plaza is located on the corner of Tuskawilla Road and Red Bug Lake Road. This intersection provides high visibility and traffic exposure to Winter Spring’s residents and commuters. According to Gull, the plaza was completely renovated in 2009 and remains a preferred option for shopping and dining. The plaza is home to a variety of tenants, including: Sprint, Jimmy John’s, Region’s Bank, Taco Bell, Thai Basil, and D’tails Grooming and Spa, amongst others. Stiles is responsible for both the leasing and property management at the property.

Gull noted that in securing the most recent national leases, Red Willow Plaza’s demographics, traffic counts and proximity to major highway SR 417 were key factors. “Within a five-mile radius there are more than 200,000 residents with an average household income of $75,000,” said Gull. “There are simply not many neighborhoods with those kinds of statistics.”