Information

2010

 
 

With incentives provided by the City of Frisco, Oakridge was able to induce SuperTarget to commit as the major anchor tenant while also allowing The Centre at Preston Ridge to be developed with a distinctive look celebrating Texas history. These special features include three, 100-foot obelisks, which serve as landmarks on the main east-west road through the development and a major exhibit of bronzes entitled The ―Spirit of ‘67.‖ Considered to be the longest continuous-theme bonze sculpture in the nation, the display features twenty bronze sculptures along the north-south spine road. The beautifully rendered cowboys, horses and steers recreate a scenic cattle drive on the historic Preston Ridge/Shawnne Trail that once crossed the property, running from San Antonio, Texas, to Sedalia, Montana. The overall effect of the monuments truly differentiates The Centre from the average commercial development, fostering a feeling of community and a sense of ―place‖ for Frisco and visiting North Texas residents alike.


The success of Oakridge‘s Centre at Preston Ridge and General Growth‘s Stonebriar Centre mall has sparked an avalanche of ―home-run‖ peripheral developments. As the majority land owner within the Frisco Bridges Association, Oakridge & New Plan Excel voted to amend the Frisco Bridges deed restrictions to allow Tom Hick‘s Southwest Sports Group to build a city-funded $22 million minor league AA ballpark for the Texas RoughRiders and a $20 million Dr. Pepper StarsCenter as the NHL Dallas Stars hockey training facility and the NAHL Texas Tornado‘s playing venue. The Rough Riders ballpark opened in Spring 2003 to huge crowds and was voted the Best New Ballpark for 2003 by Baseballparks.com. As proof to its popularity, the Rough Riders Stadium has the 4th largest attendance in the minor league system with 700,000 visitors a year. Immediately adjacent to these developments, John Q. Hammons opened a 321-room full-service Embassy Suites hotel and a city-funded $20 million, 100,000 square foot convention center. These facilities have made Frisco a sports tourism destination further supporting its retail, commercial and hospitality base as evidenced by the continued build out of Frisco Bridges‘ office, retail and hotel components.


Oakridge was also a key player in the negotiations that led to IKEA building a 310,000 square foot mega-store in Frisco Bridges, its first North Texas location. With its hugely successful grand opening on August 3, 2005, IKEA, the world‘s largest furniture retailer, now draws 3 million visitors and $100 million in sales per year, making it another unique draw to the area and a destination for all of North Texas. As part of the deal to bring IKEA to Frisco, Oakridge acquired 13 acres adjacent to IKEA for future retail development. Adjacent to IKEA, Oakridge Investments delivered sites for a 30,000 square foot Rooms-to-Go and a 40,000 square foot Ashley Furniture Homestore while also developing an adjacent 60,000 square foot lifestyle home-furnishing center making Frisco a super-regional ―furniture row‖ for the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. This is the first time in retail development history that the top international and top domestic furniture retailers have been positioned side-by-side in a concentrated retail development. Combined, these anchors are produce over $150 million in annual retail sales.


Oakridge Investments has recently completed development of a mixed-use component on the 30-acre Phase I B of the Centre at Preston Ridge which is adjacent to the existing 908,000 square foot Phase I A retail power center. On the tract, Oakridge sold two hotel sites, the first being a 3 acre site to Magnolia Lodging which in February 2009 opened a 130-room Hilton Homewood Suites, and the second being a 3-acre tract to Champ Hospitality which in December 2008 opened a 130-room Starwood ―Aloft‖ hotel —the Aloft brand being the newest variation of the successful W brand.

Oakridge sold the major 14-acre ―anchor tract‖ of Phase I B to Westwood Residential on which Westwood has built the Cool Springs mid-rise luxury 650-unit apartment complex which opened in March 2009. This high-density resi-dential development along with the additional 600 residential units being built across Parkwood by Post Properties within the Lakeside at Frisco Bridges tract, will create a 24-hour community environment within the overall Frisco Bridges which will allow a resident to work, play and shop within walking distance of these complexes while further strengthening retail demand.

The remaining 10 acres of pad sites along Gaylord and Warren Boulevards has been retained by Oakridge for restaurant or retail development furthering the live-work-play environment of Frisco Bridges.


Oakridge Investments has been a major developer in the growing town of Forney, Texas, 20 minutes east of Dallas. The retail component is the Mustang Crossing Shopping Center, a 70-acre power center retail development anchored by a 183,000 square foot Super Wal-Mart and a 130,000 square foot Lowe‘s located at the northeast corner of U.S. Highway 80 and FM 548. The Super Wal-Mart opened in May 2005, and established the shopping center as Forney‘s ―gateway‖ retail development. Other tenants at the center include Chili‘s Bar & Grill, Wendy‘s, Hibernia/Capital One, Chick-Fil-A, Sonic, Whataburger, Autozone, Chase Bank, Walgreen‘s and Starbucks. The development incorporated design elements similar to Oakridge‘s Frisco developments, including the use of natural Leuder‘s Limestone in retail facades and common area bronze sculpture artwork. In total, retail development will comprise over 400,000 square feet at build-out producing an estimated annual retail sales in excess of $120 million.

Oakridge in partnership with MCA Development also developed The Villages of Fox Hollow, Forney‘s first fully-integrated, master planned, mixed-used subdivision. Planned for 1,200 homes built by some the Metroplex‘s top home-builders – Standard Pacific, Drees and Highland Homes, Fox Hollow‘s amenities include an adjacent 130-acre regional park, an extensive system of jogging, hike and bike trails, a $1.5 million state-of the art amenity center and pool, 500,000 square feet of complimentary neighborhood retail and the highly rated Forney ISD school system.


In November 2007, Oakridge Investments acquired an 89-acre regional development tract in Terrell, Texas while simultaneously selling 52.5 acres to Baylor Health Care for a regional hospital concentration. The remaining 36 acres owned by Oakridge fronts FM 148 at the convergence of I-20 and US 80 (Spur 557). The Oakridge portion of the overall site will be developed as a major regional power center called Terrell Market Center. Given the site‘s highway frontage, existing diamond interchange infrastructure, strong demo-graphics and ideal spacing from existing regional retail developments, Terrell Market Center should appeal as the first choice for major anchors, retailers and restaurants serving Kaufman County. The site can accommodate a regional power center layout of approximately 250,000 square feet. Oakridge plans to start offsite work and partial on-site work was early as 2010 with potential openings for major anchors occurring no earlier than 2012. At build-out, the I-20 and US 80 intersection should be home to several million square feet of retail, medical and commercial uses.


Since early 2006, Oakridge and 3-JJJ Construction have partnered in the build-to-suit development of three Ashley Furniture HomeStores in Texas. The first build-to-suit was completed in July 2006 as a new 40,000 square foot Ashley HomeStore along Kell Freeway in Wichita Falls. The second build-to-suit was a 35,000 square foot HomeStore along Earl Rudder Freeway in College Station which opened in February 2007. The third HomeStore build-to-suit was a 35,000 square foot store that opened in November 2007 as part of the Central Texas Marketplace regional retail power center in Waco.

The first dedicated Ashley Furniture HomeStore opened in 1997. In less than 10 years, Ashley Furniture Homestores has grown to over 300 store locations and is considered the largest home furnishing retailer in the county.


In 2000, Oakridge Investments with Price Legacy Corporation (AMEX: XLG) acquired International Corporate Park, a fully-permitted 2,400-acre master planned mixed-use development located in Orlando. In June 2004, the partnership sold the property to Ft. Myers-based Grosse Pointe Partners, returning a substantial profit on the initial investment.

ICP initially started as a failed industrial park in 1986 and the property languished for years devoid of activity. As the last large fully entitled undeveloped tract of land within Orange County, Oakridge Investments saw the opportunity to transform ICP back into its original vision as a master planned corporate campus. In 2001, the partnership reached a preliminary agreement with Orange County and the Orlando Utilities Commission for the extension of Alafaya Trail as a four-lane, raised median highway from its current terminus north of the ICP to the middle of ICP at its interchange with the Beeline Expressway. For the first time in its history, ICP had a direct link to southeast Orange County‘s growth and burgeoning resi-dential developments and by the time of its sale to Gross Pointe in 2004, ICP was one of the most heavily sought after tracts in Central Florida.


Internationally, Oakridge led an investment partnership that acquired a 821-acre resort development site at Playa Matapalo in Costa Rica‘s Guanacaste tourist province in April 2005. As a large virgin development site with 1,640 feet of beachfront, access to Guanacaste‘s highway system and proximity to the Liberia International airport, the property offered a major resort developer the unique opportunity to establish a master-planned destination similar to Four Seasons renowned Papagayo Resort near the Playa Matapalo site. In October 2006, the partnership sold the entire tract to RIU Hotel & Resorts (www.riu.com) of Spain who is developing a 2,000 room all-inclusive resort on the property. The first phase of 701 rooms opened October 2009 and the ceremony was attended by Oscar Arias Sanchez, the President of the Republic of Costa Rica and a Nobel Prize Winner. The second phase is planned to be a 500 room RIU Palace while the third phase will be another 700 rooms. In total, this concentration of rooms that will make the RIU Guanacaste the largest resort in Central America.


 

More Information from Page 1