A Fort Worth company is taking the lead in redeveloping a key economic asset in Arlington: the once-showpiece Lincoln Square shopping mall.
Trademark Property Co. completed the purchase of the 470,000-square-foot shopping center at 1500 N. Collins St. in Arlington.
In June, the Arlington City Council agreed to make two grants totalling $14.23 million in exchange for Trademark’s commitment to spend at least $150 million to convert the once-vibrant shopping center into a mixed-use development that combines offices, retail, restaurants and apartments.
Monica Luera, senior director of development at Trademark, said the project has been of interest to the company for some time.
“It finally worked out, and we’re excited about it,” she said.
The 46-acre Lincoln Square is located on the high-profile corner of Interstate 30 and Cooper Street and close to Arlington’s entertainment district that includes Globe Life Field, Choctaw Stadium, AT&T Stadium, Texas Live!, the 888-room Loews Arlington Hotel and Convention Center. The shopping center also is close to Six Flags Over Texas, Hurricane Harbor, and the largest eSports stadium in the nation. Arlington’s entertainment district attracts more than 14.5 million visitors per year, according to Cushman & Wakefield, which marketed the property.
The center opened in 1983 and contains about 500,000 square feet of retail space. ShopCore Properties, an affiliate of global real estate firm The Blackstone Group, had owned the property since 2016, and the center was 72% leased, according to the real estate group.
“Being able to take advantage of the larger trade area that the entertainment districts draws on and also to focus on creating a place that is currently missing in northern Arlington is a great opportunity,” Luera said.
Trademark has already started meeting with residents in the area to talk about changes they would like to see, Luera said.
“We did the same thing with the Victory Park development in Dallas when we worked there,” Luera said.
Trademark also launched a digital survey that asks residents how they use the shopping center and what shops and amenities they would like to see at Lincoln Square.
Trademark’s timeframe for the 45-acre project is six years. Trademark is to establish a goal of 30% use of minority or women-owned business enterprises during design and construction of the project, according to the agreement.
When it opened four decades ago, the shopping center was considered a high-end showcase.
Today, it is key to the city because it is the entrance to the entertainment district and a gateway to the city’s revitalized downtown, said Trey Yelverton, Arlington’s city manager.
“Lincoln Square kind of touches both of those key districts for us, so with the size that it is and the location that it’s in, it is highly visible and has the ability to provide a good gateway to both those districts,” he said.
The upgrades to Lincoln Square are important to the city’s tax base, Yelverton said. In a comparison with the surrounding area, the tax base within a quarter mile of Lincoln Square has grown 50% since 2015. But, over the same period, Lincoln Square’s tax base has declined 12%.
“It clearly hasn’t been carrying its fair share of the property tax growth in the area,” the city manager said. “When it comes back and it’s rejuvenated, we hope with a kind of higher and better land use opportunity with a little more density and such that we’ll have higher values.”
Terry Montesi, CEO of Trademark, agrees.
“We are confident we can create a world-class destination that will upgrade the area’s offerings and be a catalyst for further growth of the neighborhood and its cultural, sports and entertainment venues,” Montesi said in a news release.
The city of Arlington selected Trademark over other proposals for Lincoln Square.
“We had seen what Trademark had done in redeveloping other sites and we’re confident in what they can do,” Yelverton said.
Trademark also manages the Galleria Dallas and is working to redevelop that mall. Other Trademark local developments include Fort Worth’s WestBend, Waterside and Alliance Town Center.
Chris Harden and Kris Von Hohn, based in Cushman & Wakefield’s Dallas and Houston offices, led the sales efforts for Lincoln Square. Beth Lambert of Cushman & Wakefield spearheaded the structure and implementation of the financing. Kevin McGlaun of M4 Realty Advisors led development planning and partnership discussions with the City of Arlington.
“Lincoln Square represents an opportunity to create the next generation high-density, mixed-use retail destination at the gateway to one of the most prominent entertainment districts in the United States,” Harden said.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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