An East Dallas retail development project on Henderson Avenue is set to begin construction sometime this summer.
In 2018, the Dallas City Council voted on a rezoning plan for the area. It was a difficult debate, but the board unanimously voted to approve the project after Mark Masinter, the developer at the time, agreed to reduce some parts of the plan.
Since then, a New York-based realty company has become the largest owner along Henderson Avenue. Acadia Realty Trust has now set its sights on a summer start time for the construction of the new buildings, as reported by The Dallas Morning News.
Last year, Acadia acquired more than 160,000 square feet of buildings along Henderson Avenue for $85.4 million. Henderson Tap House, aptly named, is one of the tenants of the strip lining the avenue.
In addition to the 160,000 square feet of buildings, the acquisition also included a little over 4 acres of undeveloped land. Due to the rezoning vote in 2018, this land can now be developed to include retail, restaurant, and office space.
The company plans to begin working on 12,000 square feet of new construction for retail buildings.
“We’re also seeing increased demand and markets experience strong demographic growth,” Acadia CEO Ken Bernstein told the DMN.
“An example of this is our recent acquisition in Dallas on Henderson Avenue where due to the growth of the residential community surrounding the Knox-Henderson corridor, we’re already seeing leasing spreads of about 20%.”
The one-story retail shops were designed by Dallas architectural firm GFF and are projected to cost roughly $3.4 million, the DMN reported.
“In conversations with our retailers in relation to new store commitments, they are generally looking past this current period of economic uncertainty and committing to key locations, especially for unique mission-critical locations like we have in our portfolio,” said Bernstein.
Acadia’s portfolio includes properties in Boston, New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and Chicago. This purchase was the first for Acadia in Texas, according to The Real Deal.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the city of Dallas is notoriously difficult to build in, as its backlogged permitting process is counterproductive to growth.
