WICHITA FALLS, TX-A San Antonio developer, tackling his third project in the city, will start vertical work in the coming weeks on the largest non-mall retail development in its Texas Panhandle trade area. The $35-million Quail Creek Crossing is coming out of the ground with preleasing resting at 75%.
"This has been in the works for almost two years," says Paul Blackburn, founder of Blackburn Properties, who has teamed with local broker, Andy Lee, to assemble seven land tracts for the 225,000-sf development along Lawrence Road. Blackburn says all buildings in the 1930s-era industrial park were razed in recent weeks to ready the 23 acres for the build-out plan.
"Our goal is to be 100% leased by spring 2007," Blackburn tells GlobeSt.com, citing a full pipeline for the balance of the class A retail space. He says the first wave of deliveries, totaling nearly 145,000 sf, is slated for February.
Coming to the market will be an Academy Sports & Outdoors, PetSmart, Bed, Bath & Beyond and David's Bridal. The mix will run the gamut of national to local retailers, with a deal close to signing for the only 40,000-sf pad site.
Quail Creek Crossing sits across the street from a Wal-Mart Supercenter and neighbors Blackburn's other projects, a 67,000-sf former Albertson's that was redeveloped, multi-tenanted and now is fully leased plus a former Wal-Mart location, which now holds a Home Depot store.
"It's just a great secondary market in the state of Texas," Blackburn stresses. "I saw some good opportunities." The trade area stretches across the Red River into southern Oklahoma.
Quail Creek Crossing is a public-private marriage mortared by a tax increment financing district that helped to fund infrastructure costs. The advance work required the permanent closing of a city street and abandonment of rail spurs leading to a long-gone juice manufacturing plant.
Dallas-based O'Brien & Associates Architects Inc. designed Quail Creek. Local firm Biggs & Matthews is the civil engineer and W.B. Kibler Construction Co. of Dallas, the general contractor.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.