Sundance Square's a CBD Hit

Johnny Campbell, president of Sundance Square Management, ran Baltimore's Harbor Place for three years as well as doing retail stints in Philadelphia, New York City and Phoenix. "They all have their great projects," he tells GSR. "But, I've never seen a downtown that feels as authentic and as real and has the identity with its locals as Fort Worth. This ranks with the best, if not the best."

The revitalization began in the early 1980s: a public-private partnership between the city and the Bass family. Today, Sundance Square is 20 blocks of developed retail, totaling 375,819 sf, and a waiting line to get into a CBD that draws 10 million visitors per year. Next month, Campbell gets his biggest opportunity since he arrived on the scene four years ago: an 8,000-sf vacancy. That's when Pier 1 Imports closes its longtime store at the corner of Fourth and Houston streets, a move that puts Sundance Square Development Co. and the management company at a crossroads for the master plan, which includes 20 more blocks of basically undeveloped space.

"It's an outstanding street-front presence with exceptional windows on a hot corner," Campbell says. Not just any retailer will do. Not only is Sundance Square's team particular about the backfill, as it is with the smallest of spaces that might open up, but it's privileged enough to have time to decide. The last large opening was filled with temporary retailers for eight months until the team zeroed in on the right store after sorting through a roster of 20 active prospects for the 5,000 sf. The winner was Leddy's Sundance Ranch, which sells Western wear and contemporary clothing.

Campbell says it could take just as long to find the right match for the Pier 1 space. The team's started preliminary talks with specialty apparel retailers, a niche taking over the Houston Street corridor.

"We pay very careful attention to filling the right space with the right tenant," Campbell says, adding the "pipeline of prospects" for all types of retail runs a couple pages. "It has to fit the plan...We have to be sure that what goes there is a great eye-catcher."

All cities are challenged to find the right retailer for an opening, Campbell says. But not all have the privilege of a private owner in charge of the development strategy, armed with a waiting list for space with a quoted rate that is kept under lock and key. The sales volume is also kept under wraps for a retail roster supported by 20 screens of AMC cinemas, 24 restaurants, three live theaters, Bass Performance Hall, permanent home for the ballet, symphony, opera and theater companies, two museums and three art galleries.

The Pier 1 space is particularly sensitive because it's a key corner at the heart of a development path that connects the CBD to the expanded convention center and soon-to-start hotel projects. "We're not in a hurry to run out and lease up the space," Campbell emphasizes. "We want to be sure it's the right use."

Campbell says Sundance Square's retail has been fully leased since he moved to town after running Arizona Center. His first Fort Worth deal put the Reata into the 23,000-sf Caravan of Dreams within 10 days of the closing.

Sundance Square is by no means landlocked. "There's always the consideration to expand," Campbell says. "We are waiting for the right opportunity. I can't say when more will come." The next development tract most likely sits at the heart of the 20 blocks: two surface parking lots. But, that doesn't preclude development along the Bass' other blocks, particularly as Throckmorton Street, which parallels Houston Street, continues its fast-paced residential development.

Campbell says even he doesn't know why Sundance Square is so successful. It could be the exquisitely restored, turn-of-the-century buildings, balance and blend of the retail, 200-foot blocks, private security force that works in tandem with the city's police department or even attention to detail.

"What is the magic bullet? I don't believe there is an answer," Campbell says. "But, you've got to have a private sector, someone who is interested in reviving a downtown."