Lake Highlands Plaza is now under contract for purchase by a local real estate company, according to sources at Lake Highlands United Methodist Church. You may recall that the church has been one of several groups bidding on the foreclosed shopping center at Walnut Hill and Audelia over the past few months.
Christon Company, whose LH projects include a redevelopment at Northwest Highway and Ferndale and an apartment complex near LH Plaza, is expected to sell off parcels of the site for redevelopment, though the company has not revealed details of its proposal for the center. Previous bidders in the real estate business hoped to create a mix of residential and retail by walling off half the property and returning a portion to the single family streets behind the center. LHUMC discussed using part of the property for church-related purposes and retaining the retail and restaurant tenants.
Church reps expressed frustration that – for the second time – good faith purchase negotiations were suddenly halted and contracts signed with a competing buyer. The church had been working with neighborhood home builders to discuss the possibility of putting single-family homes on the site.
We’ll bring you more details here on the blog as we are able to confirm them, but the contract with Christon is described as “likely to close.” Of course, in today’s market, we’ll believe that when we see it.
