"It seems like the right situation, the right group of people and it's a beautiful piece of property," says Steven L. Craig, former president and COO of Chelsea GCA Realty Inc. Craig tells GlobeSt.com that he expects to have the first retailer signed in three to five months. Ground-breaking is tentatively planned for spring 2003 on the 18.1-acre tract and a ribbon-cutting in fall 2003.

The firm's well-honed connections will bring a center and lineup that will be far different from its outlet neighbor, Grapevine Mills, although outlet venues are Craig's forte. He says the goal is to develop a center that's "more intimate, humanistic and less media intense" than the outlet mall situated just one-quarter mile from Craig's site. The hybrid specialty center will feature lifestyle attractions, fashion-designer outlets and a new mix of restaurateurs to ensure customers return.

Craig says the architect will be under contract in 30 to 45 days. The retail project gets its first public showing at ICSC's annual show in Las Vegas.

Silver Lake Centre is an undertaking of Cumberland-Grapevine Partners LP, led by GreyHawk Realty Capital LLC. As Craig massages the retail plan, GreyHawk is positioning itself for an October signing on 7 1/2 acres now under contract to Second Century Investments for a 150- to 200-room Hilton Garden Inn, Ted Murphy, GreyHawk's managing partner, discloses to GlobeSt.com. The developer intends to build out the hotel site with two restaurants.

Nashville-based Opryland's postponement for the opening of its under-construction 1,500-room and 400,000-sf conference facility hasn't kept lookers from the market, says Murphy. Another hotelier and office developer are talking, but not quite ready to sign for Silver Lake Centre tracts. In the next two years, some 2,000 hotel rooms are forecast to deliver in the surrounding area. Craig Realty's acreage abuts the NFL Dallas Cowboys Golf Club and Opryland Texas, right at the intersection of Bass Pro Drive and Texas 26.

Craig Realty and Silver Lake Centre owners have been talking for nearly a year. Craig is a long-time friend of one of GreyHawk's principals and a high-roller in the retail sector. Craig Realty owns and operates Carlsbad Company Stores in Carlsbad, CA; Cabazon Outlets near Palm Springs, CA; the Woodburn Company Stores near Portland; and Outlets at Anthem in Phoenix. The developer is building an upscale designer center in Brescia, Italy, and another in San Clemente, CA and manages Lake Elsinore Outlets in CA and Citadel Outlets in Los Angeles. That kind of resume pushed Craig Realty Group to the forefront as it bested "three or four" others in the running for the JV.

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Prominent CA Retail Developer Cuts 50-50 Deal for Texas Inroad

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