"We're super excited to finally be coming out of the ground and letting tenants and the community see that it's real after talking about it for so long," says Gar Herring, president of the Dallas-based development group. He tells GlobeSt.com that MGHerring secured a $40-million loan from Bank of America to supplement city bonds to make the events center become a reality. The center will sit at the epicenter of three million sf in side-by-side projects spanning 400 acres at the junction of Stacy Road and US Hwy. 75.
"We climbed some very challenging hurdles," Herring adds. "The financing was extremely complex." The developer, city and facility operator, Phoenix-based Global Entertainment Corp. have stakes in the project, with MGHerring floating a loan separate from its construction financing for the Village at Allen and Village at Fairview.
[IMGCAP(2)]The developer has transferred a 15-acre tract in the Village of Allen to the city, which will own the events center, two parking decks and the land. A cross-access agreement has been inked between the developer and city.
Dallas-based Hunt Construction Co. is the center's general contractor while Cadence McShane Corp., also from Dallas, will build one parking deck and Plano, TX-based Hill & Wilkinson Ltd. will build the other. The events center will neighbor a 220-room Courtyard by Marriott, a $40-million project by Springfield, MO-based John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts Inc. Dirt work has just started for the hotel, now penciled to deliver in summer 2009.
MGHerring's regional mixed-use projects are being touted as the largest undertaking of its type in Texas and one of the largest in the US. The developer to date is holding commitments for more than one million sf of retail space. Allen's phase one will deliver Oct. 15 and the second phase will come on line in March 2009. The 1.4-million-sf Fairview's grand opening is slated for Aug. 5, 2009.
Allen's first phase is anchored by a Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods, TJ Maxx, Home Goods and Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us. Phase two's anchor is Super Target. Herring says retail spaces will start to turn over for finish-out Aug. 1. Fairview's anchors are Dillard's, Macy's, JCPenney, Village Roadshow, Container Store, Italian restaurant Patrizio and Bailey's Prime Plus.
Global Entertainment, holding a long-term management and operator's contract for the events center, is finalizing plans to add a Central Hockey League team to its venue card. The league franchise will be disclosed in November. The center has been designed with 6,275 fixed seats, capacity for 8,500 seats and 25 suites. Its drawing card will sport 150 events per year, which are projected to draw more than 600,000 visitors annually to concerts, family entertainment and top touring shows like Cirque de Soliel's Saltimbanco, Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus, Disney's "High School Musical" and "Disney on Ice." Other events will include trade shows, festivals, community events, high school events and open rink ice skating.
"Public/private partnerships leverage the city's ability to provide community amenities that we would not otherwise be able to enjoy in Allen," Allen Mayor Steve Terrell says in a press release. "Not only does it achieve the city council's long-term, strategic plan to provide a regional draw to Allen, but it will create a first-class entertainment and sports venue while providing a positive economic impact to the community."
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