SOUTH DALLAS -- The dirt is continuing to fly at Mountain Creek, a 2,300-acre, masterplanned development north of Joe Pool Lake, where residential, industrial and retail developers all have projects under way.
The park is owned by PNL Cos., which bought the land from the Resoution Trust Corp. in 1995. It is divided by Interstate 20, with about 1,200 acres on the north side of the highway and 1,100 acres on the south.
"There's not a prettier tract of land in Dallas -- period," says Richard Barge, president of Winston Capital Corp., which bought 60 acres in Mountain Creek in 1997.
The company built a 232-unit apartment complex on 18 acres earlier this year. Barge named it Austin Bluffs, because the property reminded him of the hills of West Austin. It opened in May and is already 80% leased.
Barge is selling 26 acres to D. J. Hammond & Associates, an Austin-based company that plans to build more apartments on the site. The deal is scheduled to close April 30.
Barge says the profit potential is higher in southern Dallas.
"You can get the same rents as you can in other parts of the city, and your basis is so much lower," he says. "You can buy land so much cheaper, so you get a bigger spread. A lot of people are starting to figure it out. We were actually starting to plan a second phase of Austin Bluffs because the market warranted additional multifamily space. But the buyer approached us with a fair price for the site, so we decided to sell and concentrate on retail."
The growing number of rooftops has Barge planning a grocery-anchored shopping center for his remaining 15 acres, which sit at the corner of Camp Wisdom Road and Clark Road.
About 650 homes have already been built in Mountain Creek. Continental Homes, a division of DR Horton Custom Homes, plans to build single-family residences on a 180-acre tract immediately south of Barge's property. Woodhaven Homes, is a longtime builder in the development, and Ryland Homes is just finishing up site work on two plots there.
The development also is getting its first school. In October, voters in the Duncanville Independent School District approved a \6 million bond package, which includes construction of a new elementary in Mountain Creek.
Jim Whitten and Bill Reese of CB Richard Ellis have been marketing the property for NP2 South for the past four years. About 1,000 acres remain available for residential and multifamily development, with about 500 each on the northern and southern portions.
"It's all coming together now," Reese says. "Mountain Creek offers the greatest opportunities in the southern sector of Dallas, and it's just getting better."
To the north, Panattoni Development Corp. just inked a big lease in its 410-acre Mountain Creek Business Park. Fast-food conglomerate Jack in the Box Inc. also has signed on for one-half of a 210,000-square-foot distribution center currently under construction.
John Watt, vice president of distribution at the company's San Diego headquarters, says the company will use the space as a regional center for about 475 stores in Texas and Louisiana. Jack in the Box currently has about 65,000 square feet in Grand Prairie.
"We're continuing to grow, and a significant portion of our new restaurants are being built in the Texas market," Watt says. "We chose Mountain Creek for our new regional distribution center because of its location off of I-20 and near I-30. It gives us great access both north, south, east and west."
About 100 people will work at the new Jack in the Box center.
Al Sorrels with Panattoni Development Corp. says several companies have expressed interest in the remaining space. The company is also pursuing build-to-suit opportunities and is in talks over a major distribution center for a Fortune 500 company. At buildout, Mountain Creek Business Park could accommodate up to 4.6 million square feet and generate about 4,000 jobs.
"We would like to do additional speculative facilities, but we'll just have to depend on the pulse of the market," Sorrels said.
Panattoni also owns 65 acres in nearby Pinnacle Park.
"Obviously, based on our holdings, we strongly believe in southern Dallas," Sorrels says.
Contact DBJ writer Christine Perez at cperez@bizjournals.com or (214) 706-7120.
