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[IMGCAP(1)]ARLINGTON, TX-Flaherty Development and ING Clarion Partners will build a 1.2-million-sf showcase development as replacement product for a dinosaur mall in the Great Southwest Industrial District. The $55-million mix of spec office/warehouse and distribution space will go vertical in December.

Brian Flaherty, an under-the-radar developer in North Texas, acquired the 700,000-sf Forum 303 mall at 2900 E. Pioneer Pkwy. in June from three sellers after working on the plan nearly two years. "It's a lot like an old brownfield site. It's been sitting there dead in the water for a number of years," he says. "All the planets and stars are finally aligned."

Flaherty says the $4-million demolition and abatement job on the 68-acre site is ready to pick up momentum. Asbestos abatement is 90% done. The mall is roughly 30% demo'd, but that will be changing within a month as the mall comes down and Pioneer 360 Business Center begins to take shape. He and some other partners are holding an eight-acre parcel in reserve for a possible second phase, which could add another $5 million to $10 million to the all-in development tab.