Kipp Whitman, president of the Colleyville, TX-based developmentfirm, tells GlobeSt.com that a 60,000-sf "upside down shoppingcenter" will break ground at the end of 2008 near Harriet Creekand 170,000 sf in two centers, River's Edge, will get under way inearly 2009. The Tarrant County land assembly is "the onlycommercial land on 114, west of FM 156, up to Wise County that hascity water and sewers," he says.

With the last land deal now complete, Whitman says his team isclose to signing deals with two national fast-food chains, anational automotive-related retailer for pad sites and has eightmore prospective pad-site deals in the pipeline. He says he'sdeveloped a "franchise" strategy that is resulting in 40% to 60% ofRLand's tenants at other projects signing up for space in its newdevelopments, often long before ground breaks.

RLand has been developing neighborhood centers in the $5-millionto $10- million range, tapping into key residential corners andaccumulating nearly 300 acres in Tarrant County to ply its trade.Whitman says RLand's specialty is the "unique" designs that it addsto each center. "They're still strip centers, but the lipstick andthe landscape are all priorities," he says. And until now, thedevelopments have been 40,000 sf or less on seven- to 10-acresites.