"There has been a flood of commercial activity up and down (Farm-to-Market Road) 544. But Murphy's underserved when it comes to medical professional buildings," says Henry S. Miller Brokerage LLC vice president Matt Anding. Anding brokered the transaction for the land at 615 FM 544 between the physicians and local seller Andy Bugh, represented by Doug Carignan senior vice president of Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.'s Dallas office.

"In most cities, there are medical condos or professional buildings, but nothing's like that in Murphy or Wylie, either. There's a definite need," says Anding, who also operates from Dallas. He tells GlobeSt.com the site acquired by Minnal and Lankipalli was once zoned for residential use and even had a house on it. But the explosion of recent commercial development recently in suburb about 15 miles northeast of Dallas changed things.

"We put the land under contract and went through the rezoning process with the city, which took several months," Anding says. "Once we got it rezoned to office and retail, we closed on it." Land in that area of the Dallas area can trade for between $8 per square foot and $12 per square foot.

He says the construction timeline and costs have yet to be set, as does the end product use, though the doctors are anxious to get construction underway as quickly as possible. The doctors are talking with developers now, and the other buildings developed on the site could be office buildings or even have some kind of retail component, Anding explains.

He goes on to say the doctors selected a good time to buy and develop in the area. "There's been a ton of activity as far as commercial property there," he comments. "There's a new Sprouts not too far from where they are, in the Murphy Marketplace."

The growth northeast from Dallas, Anding continues, shouldn't be too much of a surprise. For one thing, FM 544 links Murphy and Wylie to other high-growth Dallas suburbs further west, such as Plano and Lewisville, In addition, "things have grown so far north of Dallas, at some point, you had to start going east," he adds. "That's why Wylie and Murphy have exploded so quickly."