MANSFIELD, TX—A power retail project, the Shops at Broad, is moving forward just as two adjacent commercial pads opened up in this rapidly growing city that is part of the Dallas/Fort Worth metro area. The pads are a retail center anchored by At Home and Academy Sports, and a public ice rink affiliated with the Dallas Stars called the Star Center. A third adjacent tract is being developed with a 330-unit class-A apartment community. Fieldhouse USA is already in place in a contiguous location.

The 193,825-square-foot Shops at Broad is slated to be developed on 58 acres at 1701 East Broad St. The center will be anchored by Belk, TJ Maxx and Aldi. Starbucks, Five Guys and FLIX Brewhouse have also signed on as tenants and 11 other outparcels are also approved for development.

Trez Forman Capital Group closed on the $59.35 million construction loan that will be used to fund construction of the retail center. The loan was arranged by Brett Forman, president/CEO of Trez Forman, and John Hutchinson, president of Trez Capital Group Texas, based in Dallas. Trez Forman managing director Russ Holland, based in Atlanta, was also part of the origination team. The loan's sponsor is Clarke Coole of Geyer Morris, who was advised by Will James of NorthMarq Capital.

“We think retail will continue to boom in the Dallas/Fort Worth market thanks to a strong economy and housing market,” Hutchinson tells GlobeSt.com. “Job creation and wage growth in the area have outpaced the national average over the past five years. According to reports, the Dallas metro area ranks first in both rate of job growth and number of jobs added among the 12 largest metro areas in the US. With that in mind, we believe there is a pent-up demand for strong retail development in specific areas especially near heavy residential development. Projects that position themselves as destination centers with service-related tenants such as restaurants and entertainment venues should perform very well.”

The power center recorded one of its healthiest occupancy rates since the recession and remains one of the healthiest categories in Dallas-Fort Worth, according to Weitzman's latest report. The outlook for the category is healthy due to tenant demand that continues to absorb the limited power vacancies on the market. The power category also has broadened its reach beyond category killers to a broader tenant mix that includes users ranging from gyms to grocery stores, says the report.

“We loved this deal because the developer is creating a destination center in an area is undergoing a commercial building boom to satisfy a pent-up demand for quality retail/restaurants,” said Forman. “The Star Center and Fieldhouse alone are expected to attract more than 1.5 million visitors a year, which will deliver traffic to our client's tenants.”

For Trez Forman, a joint venture formed in 2016 by Palm Beach-based Forman Capital and Vancouver-based Trez Capital Group, one of Canada's largest private commercial mortgage lenders, the latest activity continues the momentum from a busy year. The venture is on track to close more than a $500 million in transactions this year.

Instant Insights /

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