| FEATURE ARTICLE, SEPTEMBER 2007
NEW RETAIL PROJECTS
A spotlight on some of Texas’ newest shopping center developments.
Compiled by Lindsey Walker and Stephen O’Kane
West Plano Village
Plano, Texas
Location: Northeast corner of Parker Road and the Dallas North Tollway, Plano, Texas
Size: 500,000 to 600,000 square feet of mixed-use space that comprises 175,000 square feet of retail and restaurants; 60,000 square feet of office; 250 residential units; and a 135-room hotel
Other relevant information: West Plano Village will complement its existing anchor, Cinemark Tinseltown, a 20-screen flagship theater on the site that ranks as one of the most successful theaters in the Metroplex. In addition, Cinemark’s five-story, 125,000-square-foot headquarters building is located at the same intersection. West Plano Village’s restaurant, retail and entertainment space will be designed to enhance the entertainment district created by the flagship Cinemark. Upon completion, West Plano Village is designed to offer a mix of retail, entertainment, office, residential and hotel space in six multi-tenant buildings and three freestanding buildings.
Who is involved with project?
Developer, Cencor Realty Services, under the direction of David Palmer;
leasing agent, The Weitzman Group’s Michelle Caplan and Earl Harris; architect, Hodges & Associates.
What makes this retail center special or unique? West Plano Village’s retail space will be anchored by a 12,000-square-foot eatZi’s, a bakery/deli/gourmet restaurant-to-go, styled on the order of a European market for today’s busy consumer. eatZi’s is a crowded, dynamic retail landmark in the booming Oak Lawn/Uptown market. eatZi’s offers one of the most exciting food concepts in Dallas, and it is the ideal anchor for West Plano Village.
Why will it be a success? West Plano Village promises to be a mixed-use landmark that will find great acceptance from the trade area. In addition to eatZi’s, the project will offer a live/ work/play environment. West Plano Village features the draw of the flagship Cinemark, as well as a location in the heart of a dense, affluent trade area. In addition, West Plano Village’s location offers unmatched visibility and access.
What type of shopper does it target? West Plano Village will attract the type of shopper who is attracted to eatZi’s specialty food, the convenience of a restaurant-to-go and the complementary shops and services that will create the center’s tenant mix.
Will it be a tourism draw? We expect the center to attract its fair share of tourists, since the eatZi’s in Oak Lawn is so unique, it draws people from all over. However, the center is designed to serve the West Plano trade area.
What has been the response of customers so far? Of the community? The response is extremely positive. People have told us they like what they see. The local press has given a lot of attention to the project, in part because of the excitement about a new eatZi’s in the northern part of the Metroplex and the community’s embrace of mixed-use projects.
Why was your company the right company for this project? With Cencor as the developer and The Weitzman Group as leasing agent, West Plano Village will benefit from an architecturally significant property with the best tenant mix possible.
— David Palmer is executive vice president and head of Dallas development for Cencor Realty Services.
Prestonwood Town Center
Dallas
Location: Between Arapahoe and Beltline roads at Montfort, Dallas
Other relevant information: The property was formerly a 1.2 million-square-foot regional mall.
Who is involved with project: Developer, Archon Group; leasing, Staubach Retail; architect, Good, Fulton & Farrell.
What makes this retail center special or unique? It is a power center anchored by Wal-Mart replacing a regional mall that had been out-positioned by newer regional malls located further north in higher growth markets.
Why will it be a success? This center will be a success due to its infill location and line-up of national tenants, which include a Wal-Mart Supercenter, Barnes & Noble, Circuit City, Michaels, Office Depot and DSW Shoe Warehouse.
What type of shopper does it target? Middle- to upper-income families living in North Dallas.
Will it be a tourism draw? No
What has been the response of customers so far? Of the community? The community is excited to have a Wal-Mart anchored power center to serve their retail needs. Sales have been strong.
Why was your company the right company for this project? The Archon Group was the right developer for this project due to their relationship with both the city of Dallas and numerous national retailers.
— Dan Watson is director of retail investments, Southwest region, for Archon Group.
The Market Square at Eldridge Parkway
Houston
Location: Southwest corner of Westheimer at Eldridge Parkway, Houston
Size: 550,000 square feet of retail available, with seven anchor spaces and 19 outparcels.
Other relevant information: It is a more than 70-acre development that will be bordered by three major arteries of Houston: Westheimer to the north, Richmond Avenue to the south and Eldridge Parkway to the east. Super Target is scheduled to open October 2008.
Who is involved with project: Property Commerce, the preferred developer for Target in Houston, will be handling this project as a full-service real estate company including development, leasing and property management.
What makes this retail center special or unique? The size of this development has allowed us to create opportunities for several big-box retailers to come to an already dense area of Houston. The location has great access to major highways and tollroads including Interstate Highway 10, the Westpark Tollway and Highway 6. Why will it be a success? Super Target was able to fill a hole it had in the Far West Houston submarket that will benefit from a strong pull on the surrounding areas. We expect traffic in the center from as far north as I-10, west from Katy and Cinco Ranch, south from Sugar Land and east to the Westchase District. Traffic Counts are in excess of 65,000 vehicles per day on Westheimer, a major east-west, non-highway artery through Houston.
What type of shopper does it target? With the mix of anchor tenants that we have interest from for this project, the center will appeal to a wide variety of customers throughout the area.
Will it be a tourism draw? No.
What has been the response of customers so far? Of the community? The shopping center is under construction; however, the neighborhoods and surrounding communities have warmly embraced our development.
Why was your company the right company for this project? Being the preferred developer for Target and The Home Depot in the Houston marketplace, we have developed over 40 Targets and over 55 The Home Depots and created a strong relationship with the retailers.
— Scott Seaton is a leasing agent with Property Commerce in Houston.
New Braunfels Town Center at Creekside
New Braunfels, Texas
 |
New Braunfels Town Center at Creekside
|
|
Location: Northeast corner of Insterstate 35 and FM 306, New Braunfels, Texas
Size: 1.4 million square feet of retail, more than 450 acres
Who is involved with project:
NewQuest Properties and Lockard Development are joint venture partners for this project.
What makes this retail center special or unique? The New Braunfels Town Center at Creekside will be a pure destination for the people of New Braunfels and the large amount of tourists that travel to New Braunfels every year. The project will offer a destination where you can live, shop, eat and play — all in one place. The development will also be environmentally friendly, including a proposed 29 acres of parks and regional detention on-site. The center is also one of the only locations in the Austin/San Antonio growth corridor to tie I-35 with I-10 and S.H. 130, the most traveled highways in Texas. Our project is going to have a Hill Country theme highlighted by a water feature that runs through the lifestyle portion of the center. Our tenant mix will include both power and lifestyle tenants as well as a department store.
Why will it be a success? The center will include more than 1.4 million square feet of retail, restaurants, medical, multi-family, hotel(s) and entertainment, and will combine power retailers and lifestyle retailers to create a mixed-use development that will look and feel like New Braunfels. Our project is in a “Main on Main” location and is one of the few intersections in the Austin/San Antonio growth corridor that will tie I-35, SH-130 and I-10. It will become the gateway to New Braunfels, Canyon Lake, Schlitterbahn, Gruene and the New Braunfels Municipal Airport.
What type of shopper does it target? Because there will be a diverse roster of tenants, the center will attract shoppers of all types.
Will it be a tourism draw? The local community as well as tourist will be able to enjoy this project. With Schlitterbahn attracting 2 million plus visitors a year, our center will provide place for vacationers and business travelers to stay at our hotels with the built in amenities of shopping, restaurants, movie theater, etc. Our close proximity to Austin and San Antonio make our Creekside project a place for business travelers to stay with their families — while they work, their family can play.
What has been the response of customers so far? Of the community? Local government and the community have been great to work with and were influential in our decision to develop New Braunfels Town Center at Creekside. We had a warm welcome from the surrounding communities on August 1, 2007, when we broke ground on the project. When the project is completed, it will bring a lot of jobs and tax dollars to the city of New Braunfels.
Why was your company the right company for this project?
NewQuest Properties is experienced and knowledgeable in developing large mixed-use projects.
— Holly Walsh is director of marketing and public relations for NewQuest
Properties.
Eldorado Market Place
Frisco, Texas
Location: Northwest quadrant of Eldorado and the Dallas North Tollway, Frisco, Texas
Size: 330,000 square feet
Who is involved with project: Retail broker, UCR; developers, Duggan Realty Advisors and United Commercial Development; architect, O’Brien and Associates
What makes this retail center special or unique? Eldorado Market Place’s unique features include the first Taste of Market Street, a drive-thru prepared foods concept, in the North Texas area and the third Market Street grocery store in the North Texas area. The center also is positioned to become the prime shopping location for the residential explosion in north Frisco, Little Elm and Prosper.
Why will it be a success? Eldorado Market Place is located on the Dallas North Tollway at Eldorado Parkway, which is scheduled for a $167 million improvement project in 2008 to extend the roadway over Lewisville Lake and ultimately provide a convenient traffic corridor from U.S. 75 in McKinney to Interstate 35 in Corinth.
What type of shopper does it target? Once opened, Eldorado Market Place will attract a hybrid of neighborhood and regional customers due to its location on a major north-south route and east-west route through two counties.
Will it be a tourism draw? It will be a regional draw for cities such as Celina, Little Elm and Prosper.
What has been the response of customers so far? Of the community? Eldorado Market Place will open in the spring of 2008. In its development and planning stages, it has been widely popular with the city of Frisco and the local neighborhood.
Why was your company the right company for this project? UCR was chosen by the developers to consult and handle the retail leasing of Eldorado Market Place because of our depth of knowledge and proven success on neighborhood, grocery-anchored centers in the North Texas region. Additionally, Eldorado Market Place is a project that, after studying the options, is the best site for a neighborhood center because of its proximity to the fast-growth and overall demographics in the area.
Is there anything else that you would like to share about your project? Ultimately, the intersection of the Dallas North Tollway and Eldorado Parkway will encompass more than 1.5 million square feet of retail. Additionally, it will encompass a hotel (proposed) and regional hospital (proposed).
— Karla Smith is a vice president with UCR.
©2007 France Publications, Inc. Duplication
or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization
from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints of
this article contact Barbara
Sherer at (630) 554-6054.
|
