$15 million budget for Lincoln Square

$15 million budget for Lincoln Square

Arlington’s Lincoln Square will be getting a makeover after the council approved a $15 million budget according to a Dallas Morning News article from June 30. They say, 

 

“After years of neglect, Arlington’s Lincoln Square shopping center is getting a new owner with big redevelopment plans for the property along Interstate 30.

 

Fort Worth-based Trademark Property Co. has agreed to buy the 530,000-square-foot shopping center, and Arlington has approved plans for it to be converted into a mixed-use development with office, retail and restaurants. The city set a deadline of Aug. 1 for Trademark to purchase the property and has agreed to make two grants to the developer that total $14.75 million.

 

The project is envisioned to cost $250 million to $300 million, he said, and the developer has agreed to spend no less than $150 million, excluding the cost of purchasing the property.

 

When it was built on 45 acres in 1983, Lincoln Square was one of the largest suburban shopping centers. The center has a Studio Movie Grill at one end and a strip of big box stores at the other end, including Michaels, Ulta Beauty, Ross Dress for Less and Office Depot. It has been owned and managed by Chicago-based ShopCore Properties for several years, and was put up for sale last year.

 

The approval came from a unanimous decision of 7-0 without two council members and City Manager Yelverton was one of the proponents who pushed for the redevelopment according to a Kera News article from June 29 which reports, 

 

“Helen Moise, who represents north Arlington as District 1 council member, says she and her constituents have been waiting a long time for the right person to redevelop Lincoln Square.

“All of us in north Arlington know what we had and we can see when we visit other cities what we could have,” she says.

 

City Manager Trey Yelverton told council members during an afternoon meeting that the square’s vacancy rate sits at about 44%. He says the once-thriving center has become “functionally obsolete” and its previous owner, ShopCore Properties, did not invest in redevelopment.

 

Yelverton says the sale of Trademark had not yet been finalized as of Tuesday afternoon. However, the company was listed as top bidder for the project, and city officials put in a word on behalf of the company. Trademark has invested over $4.5 billion in projects across the country, some of which include Galleria Dallas and Westbend in Fort Worth.”

 

Despite several redevelopment in the past few years, the shopping center has continuously declined over the last 20 years.