50 Acres To Become Landmark Lakes Retail Center

FORT WORTH-A Southlake investment group will bring a multimillion-dollar shopping plaza to about 50 acres of land in northwest Fort Worth under a plan that calls for the future development of 200 acres behind the property for industrial, commercial and residential use.William E. Stonaker, with the investment group Wilson & Stonaker LLC in Southlake, tells GlobeSt.com he has joined with several partners to develop about 50 acres at Loop 820 & Jacksboro Highway into a shopping plaza with more than 250,000 sf of retail space known as the Landmark Lakes II Center."Its going to be a fun project," says Stonaker, noting that construction has already begun on the plaza's anchors, a Lowe's Home Improvement Center and a Best Buy.The plaza also has room for two other "junior anchors" with about 70,000 sf of space each or can be built in the same square footage for a larger anchor, Stonaker notes. The plaza, which will rent for between $22 and $26 per sf, also will house several smaller, separate pads for restaurants and other freestanding stores along with a retail strip comprised of about 16,300 sf.Stonaker says the first phase of the project, which encompasses the Lowe's and Best Buy properties, is expected to cost at least $10 million when it is completed in October. He does not have a cost estimate for the remainder of the development but says it would be in the millions. The entire project should be completed in two to three years.The property, situated near recently completed Target and Wal-Mart stores, was an ideal location for the project because of the area's fast growth and lack of amenities. "It's an area where nothing has happened until there were thousands of homes," he says. "The demographics are good so from that standpoint, it's pretty much a no brainer."Stonaker says he also expects to close on an additional 200-acre parcel located behind the Landmark Lakes II Center and turn it into a mixed use project that will include commercial and industrial uses along with 61 acres of multifamily and a hotel.All that construction may depend on whether the land's oil and mineral rights to a portion of the Barnett Shale yields any new oil discoveries. So far, Stonaker says, wells drilled in the area have come up dry but if one strikes, the developer could see a much bigger yield than he expected.