NEW YORK CITY-Brixmor Property Group Inc., the company formerly known as Centro Properties US, has been busy since private equity giant Blackstone bought up 588 of its neighborhood shopping centers for $9.4 billion. The New York-based retail firm has filled five vacant spaces left behind by Borders in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Michigan and North Carolina totaling 129,000 square feet.

Locally, discount bookseller Books-A-Million is taking 22,824 square feet at Waterford Commons, a shopping center anchored by Babies ‘R Us, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Michael’s on 903-915 Hartford Turnpike. The bookstore--the second largest bricks-and-mortar bookseller in the nation--is also occupying 28,146 square feet at the Wal-Mart-anchored Grand Traverse Crossing at 2632 Crossing Cir. in Traverse City, MI.

On the West Coast, Dick’s Sporting Goods inked 22,648 square feet inside the Esplanade Shopping Center in Oxnard, CA. The 480,000-square-foot shopping center, located off the Ventura Freeway on 195 West Esplanade Dr., is home to other anchor stores such as Bed Bath & Beyond, Home Depot and TJ Maxx, according to LoopNet.