A series of Henry S. Miller Cos.' partnerships has been following through on an internal study that put Valley View, 55 miles north of Dallas, onto buying charts for investment. The Interstate 35 corridor is rapidly filling in as development pushes north in true Dallas fashion. Valley View is the undeveloped doughnut hole between the Denton-Sanger trade area and Gainesville, which bumps the Oklahoma line.

"We bought this for the next cycle, not this cycle," Robert Grunnah, president of investments and the land division for Henry S. Miller Commercial, tells GlobeSt.com. "We are still two years away from developing it."

Grunnah says the HSM partnerships' intent is to develop the Cooke County land. He says it's uncertain if tract sales will result, but there's no doubt about the build-out: 100% mixed-use, primarily residential and freeway-oriented retail.

An HSM partnership, 35-V V Ltd., just scooped up the last 64.5 acres, getting another half-mile of interstate frontage at the northeast corner of Lone Oak Rd. Grunnah and Henry S. Miller Commercial colleagues Grant Brodeur and John Collins represented the buying partnership and the seller, Micaela Mullins of Fort Worth.

Valley View's land prices are still bargain-basement rate in comparison to other outlying areas. The going price had been just under $1 per sf. Prices, though, are rising, so Grunnah says it could be "one of the last speculative deals" at the premium rate.

"It was a good buy," Grunnah says. "Land speculation is a function of the location relative to available infrastructure. That area is expanding very rapidly. Everyone wants to be north."