Hunter Equities LLC, led by Scott Rohrman and Peter Moore, has bought the northeast corner of La Cima Boulevard and US Hwy. 380 from an investment partnership between Prosper Hillcrest 60 Ltd. and Frisco Tollway Partners Ltd., headed up by Brad Kamp of Dallas. Prosper's fast-paced growth has sparked a development frenzy in the past two years, even stirring up a long-time rumor that Burbank, CA-based Walt Disney Co. is optioning land for a regional theme park.

"We were interested in the property before, during and after the Disney rumor," Rohrman tells GlobeSt.com. The all-cash swap was done in a 90-day feasibility and 30-day close. Brokering for the buyer was Lynn Dowdle with Dallas-based Staubach Co., and the seller had David Davidson of Davidson Real Estate Co. in Prosper working its side of the talks.

Rohrman says the land, also bordered by Prosper Commons Boulevard, was bought as an investment although Hunter Equities has the capability to develop it. Just four miles to the east, the investment group owns 17 acres entitled for 150,000 sf of retail and office space, situated at the gateway to Southern Land Co.'s Tucker Hill development. And two months ago, the investors sold 53 of their 55 acres at the junction of Custer Road and US Hwy. 380 in McKinney, holding onto retail corners to leverage their bet on the future.

As brokers in the region are keenly aware, land prices have been going up as developable tracts for all product types become scarcer. Rohrman says Hunter Equities has bought $36 million of land in the past 27 months in speculative plays for re-sales or development. In Prosper, dirt prices are pushing above $5 per sf; some pieces bringing as much as $10.50 per sf.

Rohrman says the land's appeal was four-fold, with its chief drawing card being a six-tenths mile of frontage along US Hwy. 380. In addition, the dirt has all utilities, zoning and "wet," which as Texans know means alcohol sales are legal at the site.

With the Prosper deal now closed, Rohrman says the team's ready to entertain offers while simultaneously weighing its development prospects for retail, office and mixed-use space. "We will sell all or part, or we have the ability to develop," he says. "It could hold as much as 800,000 sf, but it probably won't be developed out that dense."