Exceed Inc., an IT solutions provider, is settling into 23,500 sf and holding tight to an option for an extra 14,216 sf. The second tenant, Denver-based WINfirst, is readying for an April 1 move into its 53,943 sf of the 120,000 sf of commercial space in the South Side at Lamar.

By April's end, nearly three years of construction at 1409 S. Lamar St. should draw to a close, Stephanie Baker, management director for developer Matthews Southwest, tells GlobeSt.com. To date, 145 of the 455 planned lofts have been occupied. And, there are 240 other loft tenants waiting to move into their new homes. The balance of South Side at Lamar's commercial space should be let by June, says Baker. The remaining lofts, she believes, will be sold out by August. The made-over space is fetching $16 per sf to $18 per sf for commercial tenants and 86 cents per sf for residential units.

It's the commercial lease-up that's being viewed as extraordinary. "It's gone a lot faster than we anticipated. There's a strong demand for this type of space," says Baker. And that could be the ignition point for the 30-acre revitalization that's been undertaken by Dallas' Jack Matthews.

The turn-of-the-century Sears property will serve as one anchor while the 354,000-sf Dallas Police Headquarters Building, which just broke ground across the street, will serve as another. Meanwhile, come April, the South Side Grill will open its doors in a small rehabbed freestanding building at the corner of Belleview and Lamar.

Sources say Matthews is close to sealing a deal for another section of his revitalization dream, which he began in 1997 when he started buying up deteriorated buildings on the city's South Side. In the interim, Baker says the Matthews team is busy planning for the future on a revamp of the Sears & Roebuck administration building, which is being eyed for commercial use. "The structural plans are done," she says, "but I don't know that it will start in the near future."

From the outside, South Side at Lamar looks much as it did in 1910 when it opened as the sole distribution center for Sears & Roebuck's catalog orders. The inside has had a complete makeover, with the owners holding onto many of the historical accoutrements inherent to historic industrial properties.