One of the Oldest Grocery-Anchored Centers Set for Facelift

ARLINGTON, TX—While power centers often grab the headlines, neighborhood centers are the workhorses to which shoppers gravitate on a daily basis. With those daily needs retailers in mind, a major renovation of Fielder Plaza, one of the oldest grocery-anchored retail centers in Arlington, will commence in early March.

The redevelopment undertaking by Weitzman’s management division is designed to modernize the landmark center, which opened in 1978. The 157,575-square-foot retail center is located at 1701 W. Randol Mill Rd. at Fielder Road.

“Despite its age, Fielder Plaza, through dedicated leasing and management, has remained one of the best-performing centers in the trade area and offers not only a leading grocery anchor but also a popular line-up of shops, services and restaurants,” said Joe Lea, the Weitzman asset manager responsible for the project.

He noted that the renovation is designed to build on that long-term success by adding a new facade, signage, landscaping, parking and lighting to the center. In addition, the center will receive raised identification towers and lifestyle elements, including seating, arbors, green space and other pedestrian-friendly enhancements.

“Weitzman is making a significant investment that will enable this landmark retail center to continue to prosper for years to come,” said Herbert D. Weitzman, executive chairman of Weitzman. “Everything being done is focused on making shopping at Fielder Plaza the best possible experience for our customers. As part of that shopper-focused package, we have also rolled out a full shopping center digital marketing package for this center, including a website, social media pages, location-enabled retailer outreach programs and promotions.”

Fielder Plaza is anchored by a 52,000-square-foot Tom Thumb grocery store. The grocer is completely remodeling and modernizing the interior of the store, and Weitzman will then renovate the store’s exterior. In addition to Tom Thumb, Fielder Plaza features a tenant mix that includes national, regional and local concepts including CVS, Starbucks, Pet Supermarket, Mathnasium, Edible Arrangements, Batteries Plus, Luna Spa, Tandoor Indian Restaurant, Bombay Bazaar, Sukothai Restaurant, Hudson’s Barbers and several others.

The architect for the remodel is Hodges & Associates. Lea is directing the renovation on behalf of the center’s ownership and Weitzman’s Kathy Detrick is overseeing construction. Weitzman’s brokerage division team of Matt Luedtke and Michael Sweet direct the leasing efforts. Weitzman handles property management for the center led by property manager Allyson Flynn.

“Fielder Plaza is well established as a key shopping destination in the neighborhood, and the renovation will further enhance its appeal to shoppers and potential tenants,” Luedtke tells GlobeSt.com.

Neighborhood centers recorded absorption of 94.1% at year-end 2018 (compared to 92.7% at year-end 2017) based on an inventory of 74.7 million square feet, according to a report by Weitzman. This category, typically anchored by a grocer, is the market’s largest in terms of inventory, which makes its strong occupancy especially important. There were large vacancies backfilled last year, such as a former Target in Carrollton now occupied by WinCo Foods and a former Albertsons in Dallas now occupied by Central Market. The market’s small-shop leasing, plus fully occupied new construction, helped offset the closings by a handful of Tom Thumb and Albertsons locations. Additionally, neighborhood centers continued to see healthy demand for small-shop space from active categories such as restaurants, services, fitness, health, beauty and medical tenants designed to serve community needs, the report points out.

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