James Mullin, executive vice president and national director for the Scottsdale-based group, and Brian Murphy, a senior vice president in Staubach's Dallas headquarters, acknowledged talks are under way to roll out the concept in Texas. Murphy tells GlobeSt.com that Texas lags California and other western states in auto park and auto mall development due to variations in vehicle sales tax methods. He says the state's first "true" auto park or auto mall will be open within four years, but Mullin thinks it could be sooner, particularly if the announcement comes as hoped in the first quarter.

The advantage, the pros say, clearly lies in increased sales. According to Mullin, research shows sales are 15% to 30% higher in auto park or auto mall settings than the historical auto row. A case in point is Chauncey Ranch in Scottsdale, a $129-million auto park with a Penske Museum, dealers by the scores, a loop road, multiple test tracks ... and a Porsche dealership that rose from 56th in the nation in sales to second place within four months of a relocation to the development, Mullin says.

Auto parks most often encompass 60 to 80 acres and house eight to 10 dealers, some tied to ground leases and others opting to buy and build. But key to the planning is an association, much like a homeowners group, for a master-planned development with regulations on sign heights and building designs to create a synergy among dealers instead of the age-old methods of "outdoing the Joneses" so common along auto rows. Murphy says the growth of North Texas makes it the most likely "new point" to start the development push.

While the auto park talks simmer, Murphy, the Dallas broker for the firm's 25-member AutoGroup, recently sold two tracts to dealers for traditional developments. Construction is about to begin on an 11.3-acre tract at 1547 S. Stemmons Freeway in Lewisville for Rene Isip Toyota, which is planning a fourth quarter 2004 grand opening. Murphy brokered the land sale and then turned over the project to Staubach's retail services' design and construction consulting division, with Brett Witzig as the project manager.

Meanwhile, John Eagle is nearing a ribbon-cutting on the first "freestanding" Aston Martin dealership in Dallas. In recent months, John Eagle bought a 13,000-sf building at 5333-5335 Lemmon Ave. from Sonic Automotive in a deal brokered by Newt Walker with Sonic and Murphy. The Aston Martin dealership has been housed in John Eagle's Lincoln-Mercury line-up at 6200 Lemmon Ave.