Stephen Mclinden: Panattoni-hillwood Looks At Great Southwest

Fort Worth Star-Telegram February 24, 2000

Stephen McLinden: Panattoni-Hillwood looks at Great Southwest

Just when it seemed that developers couldn’t beef up the Grand Prairie portion of the Great Southwest Industrial by another square yard, one enterprising firm backed by Ross Perot Jr. might have found a way to add 30 acres of grist. Panattoni-Hillwood, a partnership between Perot’s Hillwood Development Corp. and California-based Panattoni Development Co., has designs on an undeveloped tract between Avenue K and Fountain Parkway about a mile east of Texas 360 as its next land re- engineering project. The same organization is buying 56 acres of Trinity River flood plain in the northernmost point of the park that it plans to engineer into an industrial and distribution property. The 30 acres are a few miles to the south of the Trinity Project along a parcel where two segments of Great Southwest Parkway were designed to meet. Tal Hicks, who heads Panattoni-Hillwood’s area operations, confirmed that the company is looking in the area, but added that “it’s way too early” to discuss development there. The occupancy rate in the Great Southwest region is a tight 94 percent, and the area could use extra distribution and manufacturing product, real estate brokers routinely say. Perot and Panattoni formed their partnership in 1998 to build speculative and customized commercial buildings. The latest buzz on the street has three grocery stores eagerly eyeing a location at the corner of Sublett Road and U.S. 287 in southwest Arlington. The property is west of the intersection, not far from the Kennedale city line. Wal-Mart Neighborhood Grocery is said to be one of the three. Grocers have looked at the parcel with varying degrees of urgency over the past few years, including Winn-Dixie, whose Texas operations are being acquired by Kroger. Downtown Arlington is getting a new tenant. First Texas Insurance Services has filed site plans to occupy office space in the First City Tower at 201 E. Abram St. The company is leasing 4,370 square feet in Suites 510 and 520, said Beaux Riley of Arlington-based SCM Real Estate. The business is one floor above the new Club at City Tower restaurant and catering operation. A new rub: Mansfield has a new massage-therapy business, Healing Arts Massage, that recently debuted at the southeast corner of Heritage Plaza shopping center at Matlock and Country Club roads. Healing Arts offers sports massage, Swedish massage and other “well-being” services, said Dennis Smith, a partner in the operation. Healing Arts, at 2300 Matlock Road, is paired with Meeks Chiropractic Center in the center. Steve McLinden’s column appears Tuesday and Thursday, (817) 548-5522 Send comments to [email protected]