Frisco stretch may become shopping mecca
Frisco stretch may become shopping mecca
07:43 AM CDT on Friday, May 5, 2006
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
At the dead end of Dallas Parkway, the vacant fields are lush green, thanks to recent rains.
The Collin County landscape 35 miles north of downtown Dallas still appears rural. But the steady stream of traffic on U.S. Highway 380 is a sign of things to come.
Real estate developers are betting that this country crossroads will be one of the region's next shopping meccas.
Construction linking the Dallas North Tollway north to U.S. 380 will be completed next year.
And shopping center builders and land investors will be waiting there for the highway to arrive.
"The developers are positioning themselves now,"
said real estate broker Rex Glendenning, who began selling land at the intersection in the early 1990s.
Back then, Mr. Glendenning had to spin some tales to make investors believe in this stretch of U.S. 380. Now, he doesn't have to do any arm-twisting.
"The major players are all looking to get into that market now," he said. "You are probably two or three years away from seeing rooftops and buying a pair of socks.
"But it could be sooner."
Indeed, two of the nation's biggest shopping center developers – General Growth Properties of Chicago and Forest City Enterprises of Cleveland – have staked their claim on the southwest corner of Dallas Parkway and U.S. 380.
The two builders separately control more than 300 acres on the north edge of Frisco that can accommodate more than 2 million square feet of construction.
"We are interested in seeing that development occur as soon as the market will support it," said Jim Gandy of the Frisco Economic Development Corp.
Frisco acted as an intermediary in General Growth's purchase of 200 acres and worked to lure Forest City to the site next door.
Frisco's leaders hope that development at U.S. 380 and the tollway may rival construction at State Highway 121 and Preston Road – one of the largest shopping concentrations in the country, with almost 5 million square feet of space.
"Four million square feet might happen in the area around U.S. 380 at some point in the future," Mr. Gandy said.
Big plans
The building total could even top that.
Dallas Cowboys owner and developer Jerry Jones' Blue Star Investments hopes to build a 2.8 million-square-foot residential and regional shopping complex on land he owns on U.S. 380 between Dallas Parkway and Preston Road.
Investor and developer Avex Properties has a 190-acre tract planned for commercial and retail construction in the same area.
Blue Star general manager Joe Hickman said the U.S. 380 strip still needs utilities and roadwork to support construction. Mr. Hickman estimates that it will be at least 24 months before work starts on any of the Blue Star properties, which the Jones family has owned for about 10 years.
"The market up there will become a lot more viable when the toll road becomes a reality," he said. "It's like Frisco before the tollway got there."
The nascent development district is about seven miles north of the shopping hub at Preston and State Highway 121.
"Everybody is looking further and further out to identify where the next retail junctions are going to be," said Steve Lieberman, chief executive of Dallas shopping center broker the Retail Connection. "That U.S. 380 intersection is clearly going to be a significant hub over time."
Sooner than expected?
And retail builders say the U.S. 380 corridor will take off sooner than planners expect.
"I think U.S. 380 already carries more than 50,000 cars a day," said David Palmer, executive vice president with Dallas-based Cencor Realty. "There is a lot of land on both sides of the street with good players.
"The construction along 380 is going to happen quicker than anyone realizes," he said.
Cencor Realty's sister company, Weitzman Group, is leasing a 515,000-square-foot shopping center planned on the south side of U.S. 380 west of Dallas Parkway.
Oakridge Investments and the Rudman Partnership are planning the 81-acre project to include a variety of shopping. Their research shows that 90,000 people currently live within a 10-minute drive of U.S. 380 in Frisco. By 2009, the population is expected to top 140,000.
Standridge Cos. owns the southeast corner of U.S. 380 and Dallas Parkway where it is marketing a 30-acre retail and commercial project called Frisco Crossing. "We are considering which direction to go with development," said Stacy Standridge. "We didn't think it would come this quick."
And broker Mr. Glendenning and his partner Steve Roberts have about 90 acres surrounding the Standridge tract that is in line for more construction.
"I sold my first properties at that intersection back in 1993 or 1994," Mr. Glendenning said. "I told my clients that were buying there that in the next 10 years we would see land in that area trading at $5 per square foot.
"It turns out I was right."
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07:43 AM CDT on Friday, May 5, 2006
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
At the dead end of Dallas Parkway, the vacant fields are lush green, thanks to recent rains.
The Collin County landscape 35 miles north of downtown Dallas still appears rural. But the steady stream of traffic on U.S. Highway 380 is a sign of things to come.
Real estate developers are betting that this country crossroads will be one of the region's next shopping meccas.
Construction linking the Dallas North Tollway north to U.S. 380 will be completed next year.
And shopping center builders and land investors will be waiting there for the highway to arrive.
"The developers are positioning themselves now,"
said real estate broker Rex Glendenning, who began selling land at the intersection in the early 1990s.
Back then, Mr. Glendenning had to spin some tales to make investors believe in this stretch of U.S. 380. Now, he doesn't have to do any arm-twisting.
"The major players are all looking to get into that market now," he said. "You are probably two or three years away from seeing rooftops and buying a pair of socks.
"But it could be sooner."
Indeed, two of the nation's biggest shopping center developers – General Growth Properties of Chicago and Forest City Enterprises of Cleveland – have staked their claim on the southwest corner of Dallas Parkway and U.S. 380.
The two builders separately control more than 300 acres on the north edge of Frisco that can accommodate more than 2 million square feet of construction.
"We are interested in seeing that development occur as soon as the market will support it," said Jim Gandy of the Frisco Economic Development Corp.
Frisco acted as an intermediary in General Growth's purchase of 200 acres and worked to lure Forest City to the site next door.
Frisco's leaders hope that development at U.S. 380 and the tollway may rival construction at State Highway 121 and Preston Road – one of the largest shopping concentrations in the country, with almost 5 million square feet of space.
"Four million square feet might happen in the area around U.S. 380 at some point in the future," Mr. Gandy said.
Big plans
The building total could even top that.
Dallas Cowboys owner and developer Jerry Jones' Blue Star Investments hopes to build a 2.8 million-square-foot residential and regional shopping complex on land he owns on U.S. 380 between Dallas Parkway and Preston Road.
Investor and developer Avex Properties has a 190-acre tract planned for commercial and retail construction in the same area.
Blue Star general manager Joe Hickman said the U.S. 380 strip still needs utilities and roadwork to support construction. Mr. Hickman estimates that it will be at least 24 months before work starts on any of the Blue Star properties, which the Jones family has owned for about 10 years.
"The market up there will become a lot more viable when the toll road becomes a reality," he said. "It's like Frisco before the tollway got there."
The nascent development district is about seven miles north of the shopping hub at Preston and State Highway 121.
"Everybody is looking further and further out to identify where the next retail junctions are going to be," said Steve Lieberman, chief executive of Dallas shopping center broker the Retail Connection. "That U.S. 380 intersection is clearly going to be a significant hub over time."
Sooner than expected?
And retail builders say the U.S. 380 corridor will take off sooner than planners expect.
"I think U.S. 380 already carries more than 50,000 cars a day," said David Palmer, executive vice president with Dallas-based Cencor Realty. "There is a lot of land on both sides of the street with good players.
"The construction along 380 is going to happen quicker than anyone realizes," he said.
Cencor Realty's sister company, Weitzman Group, is leasing a 515,000-square-foot shopping center planned on the south side of U.S. 380 west of Dallas Parkway.
Oakridge Investments and the Rudman Partnership are planning the 81-acre project to include a variety of shopping. Their research shows that 90,000 people currently live within a 10-minute drive of U.S. 380 in Frisco. By 2009, the population is expected to top 140,000.
Standridge Cos. owns the southeast corner of U.S. 380 and Dallas Parkway where it is marketing a 30-acre retail and commercial project called Frisco Crossing. "We are considering which direction to go with development," said Stacy Standridge. "We didn't think it would come this quick."
And broker Mr. Glendenning and his partner Steve Roberts have about 90 acres surrounding the Standridge tract that is in line for more construction.
"I sold my first properties at that intersection back in 1993 or 1994," Mr. Glendenning said. "I told my clients that were buying there that in the next 10 years we would see land in that area trading at $5 per square foot.
"It turns out I was right."
What's your home worth? Find out here
Search all Prosper or Frisco Homes for sale
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