Leasing Drive Revs Up for $25M-Plus MXD

Rockwall Commons consists of 202 apartments, 30,000 sf of office space and 14,000 sf of retail and restaurant space at 1389 Ridge Rd., an elevated site providing views of Lake Ray Hubbard. "It's definitely going to change the marketplace," Andrew Schendle, an associate with Dallas-based Weitzman Group tells GlobeSt.com about the T.F. Stone Cos. Inc. development. Not only is it the first class A office space in the city, but Rockwall Commons also is bringing the first underground parking garage to a suburb 25 miles northeast of Dallas.

With the listing so fresh, there are no office or retail leases in place, but the pipeline is full, says Schendle, who is handling the drive for office tenants while his colleague Jessica Amstater is tackling the retail component. Office prospects include a bank, executive suites operator, law firms and other professional services as well as medical users. Office quotes are $24 per sf plus electric.

Retail prospects include a restaurateur eyeing the only freestanding building, 6,000 sf, and operators of a coffee shop, ice cream parlor and salon-spa. Retail space is being quoted at $25 per sf to $30 per sf.

The developer is overseeing residential leasing, which consists of one-, two- and three-bedroom units, some with lofts, that range from 688 sf to 1,417 sf. The projected rental rates are $945 to $1,625 per month. To date, it's roughly 20% preleased, according to Amstater, also an associate.

"We've had a lot of good feedback, a lot of calls," Amstater says. "All of our meetings at ICSC were successful and we are about to go to an LOI."

Amstater says part of the dealmaking includes retailers who must agree to offer discounts to the project's residents and stay open later for their convenience. An interior corridor will provide private accesses to shops for residents. The retail goal targets high-end local users and a selective eye on upscale chains, according to the broker.

"We're in a position to be very selective in whom we're going to allow in this project," Schendle says. The closest competitor is the Harbor, a mixed-use development about two miles away on the southeastern side of the lake.

T.F. Stone's confidence in the location on the lake's southwestern side and submarket underwrote the decision to build the entire project as spec, Amstater adds. "These are the types of projects they like to. They really like the area and felt real strongly that it would do well," she explains, citing the amphitheater, jogging track and gardens as added perks for a project designed by Dallas-based Humphreys & Partners Architects LP.