A slew of restaurants and eateries are competing for a spot in North Arlington’s newest development. A variety of potential restaurants and eateries – Benihana, Mi Cocina, Torchy’s Tacos and Steel City Pops – were mentioned by developers as possible tenants vying for a location in Champions Park, an upcoming development slated for construction on the northeast corner of Collins Street and Interstate-30. No leases have been signed yet, as there have been more companies requesting for space than there is space available, said Thomas Glendenning of SHOP Companies, who spoke Wednesday at a luncheon for CREW Fort Worth.
“We’ve got more interest than we’ve got space to lease,” he said. “We’re being really picky about who we decide to move forward with to make sure that it is something special.”
Tenants will officially be announced later in the summer, Glendenning said. Champions Park is slated to break ground later this year with businesses expected to open in 2017. The multi-use development will be right across Guitar Center, in the vicinity of AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Park and Six Flags Over Texas. The development will stretch over 14 acres, with approximately 80,000 square feet of space available for restaurant and retail. Champions Park will be primarily comprised of restaurants, taking up about 60 to 70 percent of the space.
The restaurant and retail space will make up the first phase of development. Four of the buildings will be traditional multi-tenant buildings, while another four buildings will be standalone restaurants. Plans for the second stage have not yet been finalized but may include the construction of a hotel, movie theater or other venue. A “festival area” will also be constructed toward the center of the development, with streets that can be closed to make room for outdoor events. Champions Park received approval from the Arlington City Council back in January. Greenway Investments, a company based in Dallas, will be in charge of the project, which will cost about $30 million.
Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams, who also attended the luncheon, said he envisions Champions Park to be a central meeting location in the city. Williams said he also wants Arlington to work on having more partnerships with Fort Worth. “I think we have a lot of the same interests,” he said. “[I’m] really looking forward to that here in the future because I think Tarrant County is the place to be.”
Fort Worth Business Press by Samantha Calimbahin