The acquisition of the northwest corner of Precinct Line Road and Northeast Tarrant Parkway in North Richland Hills was closed with letters of intent in hand for 6,000 sf, Ryan Hamilton with Henry S. Miller Commercial in Dallas tells GlobeSt.com. Developer RJS Marine Inc. of Dallas will break ground when pre-leasing hits 50% for the Great Lakes Center III, he says.

Hamilton and Mark Hajdu, a senior exec with Henry S. Miller Commercial, negotiated the land sale and are pre-leasing the project. The acreage has been under contract since July. Land in the immediate area is going for slightly less than $10 per sf.

RJS Marine, which has yet to pick the general contractor, started developing neighborhood shopping centers in the $2-million to $5-million price range about 18 months ago. Great Lakes I in Denton is a 19,000-sf project that's getting a signature on the last space, 1,100 sf. In 60 to 90 days, ground will break on Great Lakes Center II, a 15,000-sf project that's now 70% pre-leased and getting ready to start in Waxahachie. And in all cases, the developer, using Great Lakes Management Co. as the lead, has nabbed locations within the shadow of the Bentonville, AR-based Wal-Mart.