The Arlington Highlands: More Than Shopping

The Matlock Road and I-20 corridor is quickly becoming Arlington’s newest entertainment destination.

The Arlington Highlands features the best brands in retail, dining and entertainment with plans for a full-service hotel and more family entertainment venues. Groundbreaking for Arlington Highlands East is set for November on 20 acres just east of the site.

“From the beginning, we were wanting something really special,” said The Retail Connection CEO Steve Lieberman. “We’re raising the level of the shopping experience. We’re creating a destination where people can shop, dine, work, play and stay.”

“Today’s Shopper Wants the Best of Both Worlds”

Arlington Highlands is best described as a lifestyle center by the team of developers, the Retail Connection.

“We’ve seen an evolution in retail development and a migration into lifestyle centers,” said David C. Wilson, president of Connected Development Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Retail Connection.

“Today’s shopper wants the best of both worlds, quality and variety, which are not offered in the traditional mall environment,” Wilson said.

Arlington Highlands is 80 stores on 80 acres combined with 635,000 square feet of shopping space. In 2006, the development earned a Best Deal Award from the Dallas Business Journal.
Lifestyle centers promote pedestrian street activity and shopping in a park setting. Storefront parking makes quick stops possible and gives patrons the feeling they want to stay.
Daniel Fuller, Jr. vice president of Connected Development Services, a subsidiary of The Retail Connection, said moviegoers can venture out of Studio Movie Grill and walk to their favorite restaurant or store.

Upon completion, the Highlands will have 110 stores and more than 800,000 square feet, he said.

The Economic Impact

The Highlands will create more jobs and help recapture lost retail sales, said Deputy City Manager Trey Yelverton, who leads the city’s Champion Arlington economic development strategy.

“Far too many residents were leaving the city to shop for specialty items because those places didn’t exist in Arlington,” Yelverton said.

Dollars that would otherwise leave the Arlington community are staying, Yelverton said. Shoppers who would have driven to places such as Southlake, Frisco and Dallas are coming to the Arlington Highlands.
Retailers were drawn to the south Arlington location because of its rapid growth, its immediate access to I-20 and the regional attraction of shoppers from Mansfield and Fort Worth from the west and Grand Prairie and Dallas from the east, Yelverton said.
The large parcel of land off of I-20 remains appealing because coupled with Parks of Arlington Mall it represents a shopper’s paradise, he said.
Developers gave the mall’s architecture an old Texas courthouse feel and went after key tenants like P.F. Chang and Borders with the idea of combining big-box retailers with smaller merchants.

It’s a big investment in the community. Yelverton puts the total economic impact of Highlands at $120 million over a 20-year period.

“This is good for the city, the college district, the school system, the hospital district, and the county,” he said. “It provides each entity with more resources to deliver essential services.”
The developers, agree. It’s been a great partnership.

”This project would not have been possible without the support of the Mayor, City Council, Planning and Zoning Commission, Chamber of Commerce and others,” Lieberman said.

Development Fuels New, Better Roadways

The Arlington Highlands is also paving the way for new and improved roadways in the southern sector of the city.

Roadway improvements on Matlock Road are underway between Bardin and Mayfield to improve north and south travel. Matlock is being expanded from four to six lanes. Center Street is also being expanded.

“Without the Arlington Highlands, we would not have been able to make these kinds of transportation improvements,” Yelverton said.

“The expansion of Center Street over I-20 helps from a future economic development standpoint because it will eventually connect to the west side of the Arlington Airport and further expand development opportunities.”

Learn more about Arlington Highlands at www.arlingtonhighlands.com.

Who is The Retail Connection?

With over 160 retail relationships and over 16 million square feet in leasing assignments, the Retail Connection has become one of the most active retail developers in the Texas market. Headquartered in Dallas, the Retail Connection provides strategic planning, tenant representation, project leasing, general brokerage, surplus property dispositions, national advisory services, as well as acquisition, development and merchant banking services. Read more about them at www.theretailconnection.net.

Article by: Cheryel Carpenter and Kenneth Perkins

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