Construction on the new REI on Northwest Highway: Photo by Brittany Nunn
If you’ve driven down Northwest Highway recently, you’ve probably noticed the major construction happening all around the Starbucks, across Shady Brook from Half Price Books.
Starting with an REI, which will anchor the shopping center, the construction is in keeping with Half Price Books’ plans to develop the six acres across the street from its flagship store. Half Price Books announced in June of 2013 its plans to freshen up the neighborhood with a brand new, bustling shopping center, according to executive vice president Kathy Doyle Thomas.
Half Price Books, which operates 113 stores in 16 states, has been buying up the land in pieces for the past several years, and it finally secured the entire six acres with the purchase of the Starbucks in 2006. The time wasn’t right in 2006, but now that the economy is picking up, Thomas says they’re ready to move forward with the development.
Last summer Thomas said she and her team had been talking with national retailers and restaurants about options for the space, but she wasn’t ready to reveal reveal which stores her team — Lincoln Properties Co. is their broker for the project — were talking with.
In May, Half Price Books announced in a press release that REI was the first retailer to sign on at its new shopping center development, which is what all the construction is for.
REI, the leading outdoor retailer in Dallas, plans to pack up its LBJ location and move to the brand new 34,000 square-foot space at 5929 E. Northwest Highway in spring of 2015.
The new shopping center will have an additional 13,000 square feet of space available for other retailers or restaurants. David Lewis of Lincoln Properties and Jack Breard of UCR Urban brokered the deal, while Cunningham Architects of Dallas designed the center.
