RM Crowe, Urdang Selling 301,000-SF Mixed-Use Project

Trammell Crow Co.'s Jack Crews, senior vice president of investment sales, is shopping the Shops at Central Park on behalf of RM Crowe Co. of Dallas and Urdang & Associates Real Estate Advisors Inc. of Plymouth Meeting, PA. Crews says the 17-year-old complex at the intersection of Texas 183 and Central Park Drive in Bedford has come to market without a minimum asking price.

Real estate sources, including a retail investor who chased the premier asset in 1991, claim the 2003 price tag is $42.5 million or practically triple the amount paid when it last traded. The location, historical occupancy ranging from 88% to 95% and the heated pursuit for good retail product help validate the shop talk.

All Crews will tell GlobeSt.com about the price is "it's an opportunity to buy at below replacement cost and get a key location." The Tarrant County center is the focal point of a "go-to" intersection in a bedroom community with about 47,000 residents and an average annual household income of $78,611. And, he adds, "it's a small hole in a submarket with not a lot of competition" and a "good sales record."

The mixed-use project is coming to market with an average occupancy of 88%. Office space is fetching $17 per sf to $18 per sf plus electric; retail is commanding $15 per sf to $18 per sf triple net. Office tenants include names like Ford Motor Credit Co., Simon Property Group, New York Life Insurance Co. and KB Toys Inc.'s regional office. On the retail side, it's a line-up of nationals with the likes of Sack N Save, Chili's and Jason's Deli. As for any upside tucked into the deal, Crews says, "there's room to improve on the tenant mix and rental rates.