Home Depot's existing store at 2422 S. Interstate 35 could beaffected by the state's plan to widen the highway, explains Grubb& Ellis Co.'s senior vice president Thomas Clarke. As a result,its acquisition arm, Benefit Realty Corp., stepped in with acontract about six months ago for vacant land at the interstate'sjunction with Valley Ridge Boulevard, Clarke tells GlobeSt.com. "Atthe time, we didn't know it was Home Depot, but we suspected itwas," he says.

Clarke says Home Depot's nursery area is jeopardized by thestate's plan to widen Interstate 35. "This was just a safeguard forthem so they would have expansion capabilities to rebuild, ifnecessary," Clarke explains.

Clarke and Grubb & Ellis senior associate Lindsay Allen hadthe land on the market nearly eight months for S&S Leasing Ltd.of Dallas. Land prices, which have been steadily escalating acrossthe region, exceed $5 per sf in that section of the metroplex.