Star Telegram

"You might even compare them to the neighborhood convenience stores," a Fort Worth broker involved with several of the new-trend says. "They're faster to build, easier to maintain and lease up quickly at rents the mom-and-popper can afford." He estimates hard construction costs at $75 to $95 per sf. By comparison, Regional shopping centers generally go up today at over $200 per sf.

The broker estimates leasing rates at the mini centers are in the $10-per-sf to $15-per-sf range. At neighborhood and community centers, the rents for non-anchors can be, on average, from $16 per sf to $26 per sf and more than $30 per sf at regional malls.

What is surprising, say some brokers, is that the new mini shopping center trend is developing even as 1.5 million sf of new retail is under development at the open-air Arlington Highlands Shopping Center on Interstate 20 and Lake Prairie Town Crossing on Texas 360.