Firewheel Town Center gets going with letters of intent for retail space pushing north of 75%, Bill Hammer, Simon's vice president of development, tells GlobeSt.com. And, he says, "we expect to open close to full." The team has until fall 2005 to meet the expectation for the grand opening of the $126-million first phase of development. Hammer says it's a pretty safe bet that the 94-acre site will be fully built out in about three years.

Leasing for a 75,000-sf office component kicks off next week with a Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc. team at the helm. Director Tracy Fults, assisted by associate Allison Fannin, will market the second-floor office space for about $25 per sf. The team will court local professionals of all types for a "Main and Main" intersection with a mixed-use building on each corner in an open-air, lifestyle design with close-in parking.

Simon and Garland officials began talking nearly eight years ago when regional malls were still profitable retail tickets. In December 2002, Simon's team sat back down at the drawing board. "We made a difficult decision to set aside all the work," Rod Vosper, Simon's vice president of new development, told the hundreds of attendees on hand for the city's milestone event of the lifestyle center's launch. "But it was the right decision and I think patience paid off."

Hammer recalled telling townsfolk through the years that the project was coming. "Finally, we're here today. We had our shovels in the ground and it's really coming," he said.

Firewheel Town Center is projected to generate 2,000 jobs and $250 million in retail sales per year. City officials passed a complex, long-term abatement plan to lock in the first large block of retail for a freeway-fueled, development corridor ringed with new rooftops. The city's tab for infrastructure and sales tax sharing is $22.4 million, an exchange for a projected $89 million in total tax revenues over the next two decades.

The Indianapolis-based Simon is the lead play, but surrounding property owners are hard at work on complementary plans. Another 179 acres will be zoned retail to keep the momentum going full steam.

Firewheel's anchors are a 155,000-sf Dillard's, 140,000-sf Foley's and an AMC Theatres multi-plex. Leases are in hand for Barnes & Noble, Circuit City and Linens N Things. The first phase will bring 245,000 sf of specialty shop space and four to six sit-down restaurants.

Simon, one of the state's largest retail owners, had the center designed by David M. Schwarz, the master architect for some of Dallas/Fort Worth's finest structures. The Dallas-based Beck Group is architect of record and construction manager while SWA Group is the landscape architect and PBS&J, the civil engineer.

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Simon Starts Firewheel's $126M First Phase

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