Lou Lebowitz, principal of SLJ Co., acquired the site at 4415 W. Mockingbird Lane from the Wilemon Property Co. Ltd., which has been disposing of assets for a couple of years. Al Shannon and Bob Lamm, both of Dallas-based Henry S. Miller Commercial, represented Wilemon while Ken Murchison brokered for the buyer.

The site contained a Good Luck service station and car wash, but those buildings have since been razed. Shannon tells GlobeSt.com that Lebowitz's plan is to develop the tract with a restaurant or light retail. The plan for now, though, is to sit tight while Wal-Mart works through roadblocks for its innovative project, a two-story design of roughly 200,000 sf with underground parking.

Wal-Mart's Daphne Davis Moore says the Bentonville, AR-based retailer intends to tweak the prototype plan while working with neighborhood opponents to overcome their concerns. "Quite frankly," she says, "there is a lot more support out there than opposition."

Wal-Mart has yet to close on the l0.9-acre tract that it's buying from discount retailer Syms. As to a date, Moore says "that's between us and the seller." Syms planned to sign a 10-year lease for a 40,000-sf former PACE warehouse in Plano if Wal-Mart buys its land and 45,000-sf building at the crossroads of Lemmon Avenue and Mockingbird Lane in Dallas.

Wal-Mart was to appear next week before Dallas City Council with its latest plan. Instead, the retailer appealed and got an extra 60 days before council takes action either on the existing plan or a revised one. A city official tells GlobeSt.com that no new plan has been submitted as yet.