Firm hopes to build retail, housing where dealerships were

02:33 PM CDT on Monday, July 3, 2006

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

A Fort Worth developer has tied up a prime building site near Highland Park and is working on plans for a shopping and residential complex.

Trademark Property Co. has leased the former Park Place Mercedes property at Avondale and Oak Lawn avenues from the Hillcrest Foundation. At the same time, the developer is in talks with owners of the adjoining block about building on that site, too.

"The Hillcrest Foundation owns the Mercedes dealership, and the Park Cities Presbyterian Church bought the former Porsche dealership next door," said Trademark president Terry Montessi. "We are in serious discussions with the church because they want to be part of the development as well."

The church bought the property because of its needs for parking and office space, which could be accommodated in a new mixed-use building, Mr. Montessi said.

The two Oak Lawn properties, located a block south of Highland Park, have been vacant since the auto retailers moved out last year. Together, they total almost 4 ½ acres.

Trademark wants to replace the low-rise buildings with a combination of high-density retail, office and high-rise housing.

"It's a little Victory-like and a little like Mockingbird Station," Mr. Montessi said. "We are talking about 12 stories.

"We think this is one of the greatest pieces of real estate in Texas."

With its location at the door of affluent Park Cities neighborhoods, retailers should find the spot to their liking, leasing agents said.

"You are right between Uptown and Highland Park," said Mickey Ashmore of United Commercial Realty. "This will be attractive to both tenants that are new to the area and will draw from other centers."

Trademark plans to start hunting tenants for the Oak Lawn project at next week's shopping center industry exposition in Las Vegas. The company hopes to have the development open by late 2008.

The developer has also bought into a 7.5-acre development site on University Drive in Fort Worth that includes an office complex and the Silver Fox restaurant. Trademark plans to redevelop the Fort Worth location into 90,000 square feet of retail, 120,000 square feet of office space and a hotel in partnership with another firm.

"These are two great projects, and we want to do something special," Mr. Montessi said.

Founded in 1991, Trademark has built more than 3 million square feet of shopping and mixed-use projects. The developer has two retail complexes under way in Allen and North Fort Worth.

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com