Benbrook to Get Regional Shopping Center Just 5 Miles from Royal Crest Homes

BENBROOK — Fort Worth-based Buxton Co. is under contract to buy 193 acres at the southeast corner of Interstate 20 and Winscott Road, where it plans to build its own 1.5-million-square-foot regional shopping center called The Trails Town Center.

Chairman Tom Buxton said Wednesday that construction of the open-air center could begin in about a year, with some stores opening in 2013. The Western-themed shopping center will stretch at least 1.5 miles along the south side of Interstate 20 and will be visible from the Chisholm Trail Parkway, formerly known as Southwest Parkway, under construction to the east, he said.

The shopping complex is just five miles from Royal Crest featured neighborhoods of Bella Flora and Bella Ranch.

No tenants have been signed, but negotiations are under way with “a considerable number” of destination and nationally recognized retailers that are not yet in the area, Buxton said. He said he is looking at restaurants and retailers in home improvement, electronics, sporting goods, groceries and entertainment.

Knowing what retailers are looking for and that the west side of the Metroplex is in high demand, Buxton decided this would be its first development project.

“We thought this was the most spectacular site,” Buxton said. “It got my attention. The demand, we think, is tremendous and allows us to be very selective in the kind of retail we bring. This is the best opportunity we’ve seen. This is very big.”

The center will be completed in phases, but when fully developed it could employ about 6,250 workers and have potential annual sales tax revenue of $3.75 million and property tax revenue of more than $4.4 million, the company said.

The Trails Town Center is expected to draw shoppers from as far away as Abilene, Waco and Midland-Odessa, Buxton said.

“We feel confident that this partnership lays the groundwork for an exceptional shopping destination,” Benbrook Mayor Jerry Dittrich said. “A development of this magnitude will serve as a gateway to West Texas. It is the only open-air regional development of this size projected for the Southwest. The city stands ready to work closely with Buxton to expedite this venture.”

The phase of the project closest to Winscott Road will also retain the town-center-style design once planned by Benbrook, the company said. Hodges & Associates in Dallas is the architecture firm.

Full story at: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/07/06/3204483/benbrook-to-get-regional-shopping.html