Plans Call for Retail, Residential, Restaurant, Green Space and More
Plans to renovate the nearly vacant Plano Market Square Mall are one step closer to reality. Houston-based Triten Real Estate Partners has finalized a deal to purchase the 300,000-square-foot mall building as well as the 26 acres of surrounding land. The amount of the transaction has not been disclosed.
A deal for the site at the northeast corner of Spring Creek Parkway and K Avenue has been in the works for six months. The previous owner of the property, Mathew Loh, reportedly turned down previous offers for the property in hopes of finding a buyer who had a concept he and his family could support.
“It was really important to all involved that a dynamic mixed-use environment be created at this location,” Triten Dallas Principal Ty Lee said in a release announcing the deal. “The Loh family waited patiently for the right developer to come along with the appropriate vision. The unanimous support from Plano’s Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council is further evidence of aligned goals for the community.”
In a November letter to city planners, Lee said that Triten was initially attracted to the property due to its proximity to US 75 and Legacy Road as well as the fact that it fell within an Opportunity Zone. He said the team at Triten were “big fans” of Plano’s Envision Oak Point initiative, and believed they could transform the outdated mall into a “village-type” environment. He added that while the outside of the building may be an eyesore, Triten loved the exposed steel structure and intimate sense of an interior boulevard.
For the past several years, Plano Market Square Mall has been nearly empty save for an antique mall hawking everything from classic furniture and appliances to sports memorabilia and records. A no-trespassing sign prohibits visitors from exploring the rest of the vacant building.
Initial plans for the redevelopment project call for more than half of the mall to be converted into creative office space. They also call for the construction of new retail outlets, urban-style residential units and ample green space. Triten Founder Scott Arnoldy believes that the transformed mall will eventually serve as a destination for area creatives.
“Rather than tear down structures to build new we want to embrace the legacy and repurpose the existing structures,” he said in a prepared statement. “By weaving features of the existing buildings with those of modern structures the project will transform into a one-of-a-kind environment – embracing both the past and the present. The finished product will be a cultural and community amenity complete with restaurants, bike trails, green spaces, kid-safe areas, public artwork and abundant bicycle parking.”
