Arlington Council OK's $100M Super-Regional Center

ARLINGTON, TX-If the plan stays on track, a Dallas development group could break ground in the fall on a $100-million, 75-acre, super-regional power center. Arlington City Council last night gave a unanimous blessing to the plan.

The Arlington Highlands project, set to rise along Interstate 20, is the largest undertaking to date for Connected Development Services, an arm of about a dozen seasoned and well-known pros who started the Retail Connection about 14 months ago with a playbook of national retail names with expansion on their horizons. Key to the 900,000-sf Arlington Highlands will be seating retailers who aren't in the suburb or don't have a footprint along Interstate 20, which has been on a construction fast-track for nearly three years as developable land became scarce along its parallel counterpart, Interstate 30.

Arlington Highlands' first phase--80% of the town center-style plan--will be junior anchor shops laid out in a pedestrian-friendly design with water features and footbridges, according to last night's presentation before council. One big-box anchor will constitute the second phase and build out the land.

Arlington, midway between Dallas and Fort Worth, has watched its retail sales revenue steadily decline, an issue that must be addressed since it's helping to offset costs for the proposed $650-million Dallas Cowboys' stadium. Arlington council has seen town center-style plans before and none as yet has come to fruition.

The development group's hook will be to find and sign retailers who have a presence in the metroplex, but none in Arlington. That mission points to names like Crate & Barrel, Container Store, World Market and Central Market. Arlington's growth, changing demographics and last year's decision by voters to end the city's historic run as "dry" territory stack the deck for luring new names to town, particularly Central Market and World Market, both of which are known for their wine lines and have stores at least 20 miles from the city limits. The hurdle is to latch onto the names before they are cornered for another nearby retail pocket like Cedar Hill or Grand Prairie.

Last night's presentation drew one opponent. "It will not work," said resident, Don Shaw. "People don't like to walk." Other concerns focused on the drain from existing retail malls and centers.

Arlington has 14 million sf of retail, the region's second-largest suburban concentration. Occupancy is 91.7% versus the 90.5% market-wide, according to Ian Pierce with Dallas-based Weitzman Group. "It's definitely one of the healthier submarkets in Fort Worth," he tells GlobeSt.com. Of the 10 submarkets on the western side of the metroplex, Arlington is one of four with less than 10% vacancy.

Connected Development Services is teaming with the local Mathes family to build the center. Right now, the calendar's penciled for a September start on a 10-month construction schedule. The second phase is expected to break ground six months later. It could take as long as two years to deliver the space, the Retail Connection's John Mathes said.