Shopping Center Business

MAY 2017

Shopping Center Business is the leading monthly business magazine for the retail real estate industry.

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COVER STORY 116 • SHOPPING CENTER BUSINESS • May 2017 be successful," says Stephen Jones. "It is that well located." Nearby office tenants moving to the North Dallas area include Toyota, Fan- nie Mae, Freddie Mac, Liberty Mutual and Chase. More than 25,000 new jobs are anticipated at State Highway 121 and the Dallas North Tollway, according to Stephen Jones. THE PROJECT The Star began construction in 2014 and began opening at the end of 2016. As the project took shape in planning, a number of uses emerged. Ultimately, the approximately $750 million first phase will include the Ford Center training facil- ity, the Cowboys training facility, an office building, a medical center by Baylor Scott & White, a hotel and 250,000 square feet of restaurants, retail and entertainment. A 411,000-square-foot office building opened at the same time as The Ford Cen- ter and the Cowboys practice facility. The Cowboys occupy approximately 100,000 square feet of the office building, while other tenants have leased space. Other office tenants include insurance carri- er FM Global, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and sports branding/marketing agency Legends — all partners or associ- ated firms of the Cowboys organization. Approximately 20 percent of the space is currently on the market at a premium; Ste- phen Jones says he has hopes for a single tenant to occupy the space. "We are getting very choosy as we get down the stretch," he says. Already, the building is commanding rates similar to those in Uptown Dallas. The Ford Center and accompanying outdoor practice field — which will also be used by the Cowboys — was an impetus for retail, restaurant, entertainment and hotel uses at the project. "We took the aspect of all the Frisco teams playing here constantly and made that into a mixed-use development so it would be active 365 days per year," says Stephen Jones. Omni Hotels will develop a full-service, 300-room hotel at The Star. The Cowboys are a 50/50 partner in the hotel with Omni Hotels. More than 250,000 square feet of re- tail and entertainment space are at The Star. The space is predominantly leased to restaurants, with a few specialty retailers. Restaurant tenants at The Star include Concrete Cowboy, The Donut Kitchen, Howard Wang's China Grill, East Hamp- ton Sandwich Co., Cow Tipping Cream- ery, Yucatan Taco Stand, The Common Table Experience, Raising Canes, Trophy Park Sports Lounge, Zaytinya, Cane Ros- so, City Works, MiCocina, Dee Lincoln Prime, Neighborhood Services, Tupelo Honey Café, Nestle Toll House Café, Liberty Burger and Ziziki's. "We wanted all walks of life of restau- rants," says Stephen Jones. "We wanted everything from Tex-Mex for families, to foods that school kids like, such as Raising Canes and hamburgers, to high-end steak- houses to serve office tenants and hotel guests. Because Stonebriar is so close — it does an excellent job serving the commu- nity with retail — we knew there would not be a huge retail play at The Star." Signed retailers at The Star include The Lincoln Experience Center, a showcase for the upscale brand's automotive line; Next Step Dance, a dance training facility for all ages; and Plains Capital Bank. Also housed in The Ford Center at The Star is the Fans United store, where fans can pur- chase all the Cowboys' merchandise, plus merchandise from the Texas Rangers, Dallas Stars, FC Dallas, Dallas Mavericks, and Frisco area high school teams, as well as regional college and university apparel. There is some retail vacancy as the project nears completion, and Stephen Jones says that the development is seeking smaller, likely local retailers that can't be found elsewhere in the market to fill the space. Baylor Scott & White is under construc- tion with a sports medicine complex and day surgery center at The Star. In addition to the city of Frisco, the Frisco Independent School District (ISD), and Baylor Scott & White Medical Cen- ter, Blue Star and the Cowboys have a few partners in the project. Lincoln Property Company is leasing the office and retail space at The Star. Omni Hotels is another partner. The Cowboys Fitness Center is also part of The Star; the Cowboys' part- nered with Mark Mastrov, founder of 24- Hour Fitness, to create the branded fit- ness club. While Cowboys players do not use the fitness center, they can socialize there. Also part of The Star is The Cow- boys Club, which Stephen Jones describes as the equivalent of a city club, similar to Dallas' Crescent Club, for local business- people and residents. "We've partnered the brand with our real estate business in an A-plus business location," says Stephen Jones. Restaurants were the focus of the retail space at The Star, says Stephen Jones. With a successful regional mall in operation and other retail services under development nearby, food and entertainment were always the vision for the project. Jeremiah Jhass/Dallas Cowboys

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