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[jefffwd]

Developer, Wal-Mart Seal 36-Acre Anchor Deal for $50M-Plus Plan
By Connie Gore
Last updated: March 28, 2005 08:02am

For more retail coverage, click GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.


FORT WORTH-Allegiance Commercial Development LLC has sold 36 of 65 acres to Wal-Mart Stores Inc., shoring up a double anchor for a 540,000-sf retail development. The developer's also holding a contract for another 40 neighboring acres to build a mixed-use town center in West Fort Worth.


A 203,000-sf Wal-Mart Supercenter and 155,000-sf Sam's Club will anchor the estimated $50-million Hawk's Creek, the retail component for a 450-acre redevelopment of land once within the bounds of the now-realigned Carswell Air Force Base off Interstate 30. John Zikos with Venture Commercial LLC in Dallas says the first wave of construction will break ground within two weeks.


Zikos says Hawk Creek's start hinged on securing revenue-sharing agreements with White Settlement and Westworth Village and landing the store relocation of the Bentonville, AR-based kingpin. "A lot of people didn't think the relocation would happen. It was rumored for awhile," he says. "But, Wal-Mart needed to upgrade and ours was the best site." Still, it wasn't an easy win because "the revenue-sharing agreement was very complicated," he explains.


With the municipal contracts in hand, Allegiance bought the land in the past week from the Westworth Redevelopment Authority and flipped acreage to Wal-Mart while holding onto enough for a 20,000-sf shopping center at the big boxes' front gate, Zikos tells GlobeSt.com. Hawk's Creek includes five pad sites, expected to add 40,000 sf to the plan, and land for 120,000 sf of junior anchors representing electronics, arts and crafts and apparel nationals. The quoted rates range from $25 per sf to $30 per sf.


Zikos and Venture teammate Ken Reimer already are holding contracts for three pad sites and are locked in final talks for a pair of ground leases. Zikos says the first deals for the six acres of pad sites will close in the coming weeks to kick off construction so the space can start to deliver by year's end.


Zikos says the junior anchors could be identified by the end of May. The plan calls for Wal-Mart and Sam's to open doors in March 2006 and the junior anchors to follow in the fall. To date, talks have produced preleasing pacts from Starbucks, Verizon and Sally Beauty Co. for the shopping center space.


Allegiance started taking down the land about six months ago after nearly two years of planning. The first tract went to multifamily development. The second purchase lined up the retail land. Zikos says the third takedown will be 40 acres earmarked for a 200,000-sf mixed-use town center with more retail and office space.


O'Brien & Associates of Dallas designed Hawk's Creek, which will rise across the interstate from Ridgmar Mall and neighbor a 125,000-sf Lowe's Home Improvement Store and 20,000-sf Office Max. The developer has yet to select the general contractor for Hawk's Creek.

[Buck]

Sounds like this is in White Settlement and Westworth, not FW.

The Loews is in White Settlement.

White Settlement's vote last year to allow beer and wine sales may have won this deal.

[salvag]

I've actually known about this for some time. Both the Wal-Mart and Sam's Club on Cherry Lane will close when the new development opens. This leaves Cherry Lane basically vacant except for the newly opened Academy and Conn's Electronics.

In the last year, Home Depot relocated off Cherry Lane. Westway Ford and Cici's Pizza also relocated in the last couple years. As soon as Wal-Mart and Sam's leave, there will be 3 large vacant big boxes and one empty car lot.

Cherry Lane has seen better days.

[jefffwd]

Where exactly will WM and Sam's be if not near Cherry Ln?

What about Target? Are they going to keep that one open once Montgomery Plaza opens?

[salvag]

Where exactly will WM and Sam's be if not near Cherry Ln? 

What about Target?  Are they going to keep that one open once Montgomery Plaza opens?

Wal-Mart and Sam's will be in the new development across from Ridgmar Mall. When they open, the ones on Cherry Lane will close.

The Target on Cherry Lane will stay open because it's far enough from Montgomery Plaza that it will not compete with itself.

[Biggins]

Where exactly will WM and Sam's be if not near Cherry Ln? 

What about Target?  Are they going to keep that one open once Montgomery Plaza opens?

Wal-Mart and Sam's will be in the new development across from Ridgmar Mall. When they open, the ones on Cherry Lane will close.

The Target on Cherry Lane will stay open because it's far enough from Montgomery Plaza that it will not compete with itself.

<sarcasm>Oh boy, I wonder if the developers are using TIF money on this project too... That would be grand!</sarcasm>

[Willy1]

I hate Walmart. To me, nothing brings in urban decay like a Walmart. They're stores always look run down 6 months after they're open. I'm sure they'll surround this one with low-end suburban retailers. The new Ridgmar Mall is really nice, I just wish the surrounding satellite strips would see a rebirth. They're old adn dated looking and they make the exterior of the mall seem run down even thought it's been remodelled recently.

[salvag]

I hate Walmart. To me, nothing brings in urban decay like a Walmart. They're stores always look run down 6 months after they're open. I'm sure they'll surround this one with low-end suburban retailers. The new Ridgmar Mall is really nice, I just wish the surrounding satellite strips would see a rebirth. They're old adn dated looking and they make the exterior of the mall seem run down even thought it's been remodelled recently.

Some of the new War-Mart's aren't THAT bad. The new one that opened off Airport Frwy. looks pretty nice. It's been open for more than 6 months and it doesn't look run down.

I do agree about the strip centers surrounding the mall. The one with Pet's Mart and Ross is just hideous. I did read in the ST not too long ago that it was going to go under a 20 million renovation. I've yet to see any progress.

[Biggins]

I hate Walmart. To me, nothing brings in urban decay like a Walmart. They're stores always look run down 6 months after they're open. I'm sure they'll surround this one with low-end suburban retailers. The new Ridgmar Mall is really nice, I just wish the surrounding satellite strips would see a rebirth. They're old adn dated looking and they make the exterior of the mall seem run down even thought it's been remodelled recently.

Some of the new War-Mart's aren't THAT bad. The new one that opened off Airport Frwy. looks pretty nice. It's been open for more than 6 months and it doesn't look run down.

I do agree about the strip centers surrounding the mall. The one with Pet's Mart and Ross is just hideous. I did read in the ST not too long ago that it was going to go under a 20 million renovation. I've yet to see any progress.

I don't care if they gold-plate the front facade, all strip retail (especially Wal-Mart) looks like crap after 5-10 years (OK, a little longer than 6 months...). Ever wonder why??? Well, most strip retail centers are financed under the premonition that they will depreciate their full value within 10-20 years. Read again: they are designed to be obsolete within one or two decades. Designing buildings in this way ensures that they will not ever be utilized to a greater potential than on opening day. Each day that ensues afterward, the center is destined to fail within a relatively short amount of time, after the gold-plated EIFS begins crumbling and falling to the barren asphalt parking lot. Of course, at this point, the developer has long gone on to build 20 more strip centers and has no responsiblity for the damage they have irreparably done to the urban environment. Compare this to downtown FW, where old buildings that were once office buildings, banks and even saloons are converted to other uses with relative ease and a good amount of investment. I'm still waiting on the first successful transition of an empty brown Wal-Mart into something other than a Dollar General or a pile of rubble (both are relative). Guess I'll be waiting a long time for that one.

Of course, it's not the developer's fault: it's what the "market" tells them to build, right?

[Biggins]

Case in point: a "lovely" "new" charter "school" in Wyoming:

(Wow, three sarcastic "quotes" in one sentence; must be a record! )

[QuakerOatsGuy]

Which reminds me, does anybody know if the pad site where that old Walmart on 820 and Bridge St. used to stand has sold yet? Excuse me for my ignorance if I have missed something. Before the fences went up, made for a neat lot to do some donuts especially the few times when it snowed.

Even those Walmart Neighborhoods Markets tend to age fast. The one on Meadowbrook was impressive when it opened as you might expect, but since then (1.5 yrs I believe) it has blended into the same mediocre level of most businesses lining Meadowbrook. No Central Market here..