Coveted 27 Acres by Dallas’ High-Five Interchange Sold

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY NEWS
By Tonie Auer, Southwest Correspondent

In one of the most sought after areas in Dallas at the High Five where five major traffic arteries intersect Dallas-based Westmount Realty Capital L.L.C. snagged 27 acres for an undisclosed amount.

Scheduled to close in December, Westmount bought the property at the Northeast corner of Central Expressway Interstate 75and Forest Lane, south of LBJ Freeway/635 from Tri-State Theaters. The site had been the home of the Gemini drive-in theater, the last in Dallas. Currently, the site houses a car dealership and assorted small businesses, but will be vacated by the year’s end, said Cliff Booth, president of Westmount.

“This is an important site for several reasons,” Booth told CPN. “It is one of the last tracts of land available on Central Expressway south of 635. With the High Five finished now, that alone makes it more attractive because of the ease of access to the property.”

Booth said there are many potential uses for the site from retail to multi-family and medical office, but Westmount is leaning toward a mixed-use development for the property. He said the location of the Medical City complex on the northwest corner of the same intersection will likely play a role in the decision.

“We have several plans that we’re looking at and we will fine-tune them to find the best mix,” he said. “We will have a plan in place by the end of the year.”

Investment activity in the Dallas office market remains brisk, according to the Grubb & Ellis Co.’s Dallas/Fort Worth Office Market Trends third quarter report, with a notable increase in such urban markets at Dallas’ Central Expressway, where Younan Properties Inc. acquired Energy Square I, II, and III from Transwestern Investment Co. in late-September as part of a seven building, $270 million portfolio. Asking rents for Class A office product in that area range from about $21 to $23 per square foot, according to the report.