Chastened by the recession, mall-based apparel retailers like Gap and AnnTaylor are poring over their real-estate portfolios, looking for stores they can shrink, in a bid to increase profit.

Brookfield Wagers on D.C.

Brookfield Properties is eyeing a collection of about 20 buildings in or near Washington that fell into default last summer.

Developers Back Off Harlem Plans

Kimco Realty is the latest real-estate developer to consider pulling out of a project in the predominantly African-American and Hispanic community in upper Manhattan.

Westbrook Swoops In to Aid Millennium

The deal saved the Four Seasons San Francisco from possible foreclosure. Westbrook also got controlling stakes in Millennium's Four Seasons Miami and Ritz-Carlton Boston.

Extended Stay Switches Bedfellows

Barry Sternlicht, best known for founding boutique W Hotels, has persuaded Extended Stay to spurn its other suitors and back his bid to take the hotel chain out of bankruptcy-court protection.

Hong Kong Lowers Threshold for Property Sales

Lawmakers approved a measure that will force holdout owners to sell apartments to a developer that buys at least 80% of a building's units. The new rule is expected to put prime real estate in play for development.