Retailers Christen Shops in $1B MXD's Phase One

ALLEN, TX-MGHerring Group, capping four years of hard work, has started the parade of stores for the first phase of the $1-billion, three-million-sf mixed-use development in the far northern tier. As the Village at Allen’s first shops get christened in back-to-back soft openings, crews are hard at work on its phase two and a 1.4-million-sf sister, the Village at Fairview.

As would be expected, it’s been a mix of trials and triumphs as the Dallas-based developer assembled 400 acres at the junction of Stacy Road and US Hwy. 75 in two suburban cities for one of the largest mixed-use projects now being built in the US. Gar Herring, president of the development group, tells GlobeSt.com that the biggest challenge was revising the master plan after construction started in March 2007 when Minneapolis-based Target Corp. put in its dibs for a spot in the line-up. And his top accomplishment was a complex agreement with Phoenix-based Global Entertainment Corp. and the city for the $52.6-million Allen Events Center.

The all-star retail cast is using the dual projects as springboards for prototype stores and the largest formats in their line-ups. “They are putting their best foot forward to be creative and make showcase stores,” Herring says. “Almost every major retailer we worked with has come back to do their largest prototype or No. 1 prototype.”