Lake Highlands wants more quality retail!
Recently, construction was completed on the new Walgreen’s at Abrams and Royal Lane along with Exxon opening of a new Tiger Market on the corner. Now the remainder of the center is undergoing a massive face lift.
At Northlake Shopping Center there are plans to demolish a large portion of the center and rebuild, retaining existing tenants and adding a new Albertsons. Tom Thumb has recently remodeled its store at Abrams and Forest and Kroger wants to build a new store at Forest, and Greenville.
These are all good things and going in a positive direction, but Lake Highland wants what we see in other areas in the city. Why not a Starbucks or Gap or Old Navy or La Madeleine? You have your own list, and I want a copy of it. Please e-mail me or mail me what you would like to see in our area that you don’t see now. My e-mail address is awalne@ci.dallas.tx.us, or my fax number is 214-670-1843; my mailing is Dallas City Hall, Office of the Mayor and Council 5 FS, Dallas TX 75201-6390.
The next step in the process will be to recruit those of you out there in the retail real estate business. I am asking you to contact me by mail (see above) or at 214-670-4068; volunteer to help by researching the requested top 10 and see why they are not represented in our area. I will ask our Economic Development Office to help in researching information that businesses will require to see if we meet their formula for success.
I have heard all the reasons why we don’t qualify – such as our aging shopping centers and not enough “critical mass,” but I want to put on a blitz and see if we can break through and attract business so that we can spend our money in Lake Highlands instead of driving to Preston Forest or Preston Royal.
At the same time, we do have some good quality retail here now. If you need something…before you drive five miles, stop and think about whether Winmark Sports, Lake Highlands Bakery, The Collection, Handyman Hardware, Texas Paint and Wallpaper or any of the businesses we currently have may have what you need. Also, do the same with the many good quality restaurants that we have. In order to attract others, we need to show that we support good quality neighborhood businesses.
In closing, welcome back to Lake Highlands Randy Reid, our new Area Superintendent for Richardson Schools, and congratulations to Dave Casey, the former Freshman Center principal, on his new job as Berkner High School principal.
