MacArthur Park's second phase - 198,600 sf - will be completedin November although some tenants of the nearly filled center haveset October openings, says Keith Smith, project manager fordeveloper Regency Realty, based in Jacksonville, FL. The 330,588-sffirst phase opened in August 1999. The overall 55-tenant projectrepresents Regency's largest new construction undertaking in Texas."It's just a huge project," Smith told GlobeSt.com.

The entire project is situated on 70 acres of prime land andsupported by a road infrastructure that's as impressive as thesubmarket that features such special touches as marble curbs in thedowntown, a maze of Venice-style canals and a working movie studiolot. Smith says 70%, or 139,000 sf, of the second-phase retailtenants had signed for space before ground broke, a statistic thatis up to 90% and still climbing. Within weeks, 8.5% more leaseswill be finalized, he told GlobeSt.com.

The 43-acre first phase broke ground in March 1998 and wasconsidered at the time to be the largest retail project in theDallas-Ft. Worth region, according to Smith. To develop the land,Regency has had to over-excavate the site, digging 10 feet belowthe fill and then moisture conditioning the expansive clay soil tostabilize the buildings. Smith isn't disclosing project costs, butdid say the extra measures have been well worth the investment.