For more retail coverage, click GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.

VICTORIA, TX-After evaluating the market for about five years, Ross Dress for Less and PetsMart have committed to opening their first stores in Victoria, preleasing a combined 50,274 sf. The 10-year pacts go to Victoria Crossing, a Target-anchored center under development by the Seitz Group.

"We studied the market for a long-time," Dean Lane, director of leasing for Houston-based NewQuest Properties Inc., tells GlobeSt.com. "They were waiting for the co-tenancy." The center, rising at the northwest corner of Loop 463 and US Highway 77, isscheduled to open in spring 2006.

Ross preleased 30,187 sf while PetsMart took 20,087 sf. "Victoria is a single-store market for both retailers," Lane says, adding they considered other locations including the local mall. "They liked the location of Victoria Crossing and they always prefer to be in a center with Target." Big-box space in the market leases for $9 per sf to $13 per sf. In addition to Ross and PetsMart, Bed, Bath & Beyond and Office Max have preleased space in the 200,000-sf Victoria Crossing.