We recently talked with T. Hee Greetings and Gifts co-owner David Farris for the Lake Highlands podcast, and after we wrapped up recording, the conversation continued, including more on the Lake Highlands Town Center.
Farris told us that Prescott Realty had approached him and co-owner Tony Doles pretty much the day their shop opened in Lake Highlands Plaza, with an invitation to move to the Town Center. The prices Prescott quoted were $40-$50 a square foot for a retail space, says Farris, who was incredulous at the price because he pays roughly one-third of that in his current spot, and that’s as much as he can handle as an independent shop trying to make ends meet.
The conversation left him baffled as to what might happen with the Town Center because those prices wouldn’t work for local, independent shops or service merchants, and he noted that almost no one outside of Lake Highlands would be able to identify the Walnut Hill-Skillman intersection, meaning it’s not a major intersection that could draw enough shoppers and, therefore, the national stores wanting to cater those shoppers. In recent conversations with commercial real estate folks for a story I’m working on, they are saying the same thing — that shopping patterns for national retailers already have been established to the west of us (NorthPark, Galleria), and those shopping areas are too close for retailers to look at moving into our neighborhood, too.
So whatever Prescott’s Mark Henderson meant by his comments this morning, I’m looking forward to finding out.
By the way, T. Hee fans, the store is having seven days of savings this week; check its Facebook page or Twitter feed each morning for details, or sign up for an account on the new partychickandpaper.com website to receive an email each morning. We already missed Sunday’s special — 25 percent off all gift wrap — but Monday’s special is 25 percent off all ornaments. (And as we mentioned in the podcast, T. Hee has lots of ornaments, including 1,000 hanging on the tree near the store entrance).
