TERRELL, TX-A long-awaited agreement a little more than a year in the making has paved the way toward a construction launch on Eighty Twenty, a 255-acre, open-air shopping center. The Terrell city council and Dallas-based MGHerring Group finalized the $30 million economic development agreement that will get bulldozers moving on the site where Interstate 20 and U.S. 80 converge.

Under the agreement, the city, the city’s Tax Increment Financing District No. 1 and the Terrell Economic Development Corporation will reimburse MGHerring a total of $30 million over a period of 25 years, exclusively based on new sales and property taxes generated by the shopping center. Furthermore, part of the economic incentive package will fund improvements to U.S. 80 and Farm-to-Market Road 148; roads that will see increased use as Eighty Twenty phases are completed.

For MGHerring Group president Gar Herring, the agreement means he and his company can get down to business and start developing. With the dust settled, MGHerrring will begin construction on Eighty Twenty’s 80-acre first phase, which will be located in an area of the far east Dallas submarket that is underserved when it comes to retail.

“There is a need in that market for better retail because of the growth it’s had and the increase of trade area size,” Herring tells GlobeSt.com. “People out there want and need better stores, restaurants and entertainment. Driving into Mesquite (TX) to get those items has become too inconvenient.”

From what Herring says, retailers are anxious for Eighty Twenty to be developed as well. He says his company is in “deep discussion with several hundred thousand square feet of retailers,” but declined to announce, at this time, who those retailers might be.

MGHerring is currently on the hunt for an architect so work on the first phase can begin. Herring says he anticipates the first openings to occur during spring 2013, with a handful of other retailers likely opening sooner, during the latter part of 2012. But Herring notes that Eighty Twenty is more than just a massive retail development.

“There are 250 acres in total. When you combine that with property across (FM) 148 and nearby Baylor Hospital, the plan her is to build a regional hub of commercial activity for this portion of East Texas,” Herring explains. Along those lines, future phases could be sites for medical office, hotels, office buildings and even residential.