The Future of our Shopping Center

Yesterday in the cold and snow we had a little meeting here at T. Hee Greetings. Along with the ladies from Highlands Cafe we met with the landlord and the new leasing agent for Lake Highlands Plaza - our shopping center on the SW corner of Audelia and Walnut Hill.

Our main agenda item was "life after Wal Mart." Our chief concern is safety - once the "negative element" moves out we do not want the hole it leaves to be filled with an even worse element. As a result the landlord has agreed to work with the neighborhoods to increase patrol service in our center.

Another elemental problem is the "cut through" traffic that seems to be getting worse by the day - the Dallas Motor Speedway should be jealous of the speed that these drivers achieve in our parking lot. To stem some of this traffic and hopefully make our parking lot less attractive for "cruising" as well as cut throughs, parking bumpers will be placed strategically around the lot to make it all but impossible to cut through quickly.

The biggest item on the agenda, of course, was future tenants. We all agreed that we want a decent grocery store in our center. We idenfied a few chains that are expanding in the area that may be a good fit. The bonus is that Wal Mart is willing to leave behind their fixtures which could cut start up costs to a fraction for a new store- bonus! With Town Center still a few years off this is a great opportunity for a grocer to get their foot in the door here in Lake Highlands.

As a result of the meeting we have started a petition drive both here at T. Hee as well as at Highlands Cafe. We are gathering as many signatures as possible to take to these grocery stores so as to say, "look at how dedicated and motivated this neighborhood is! You need to open in our shopping center!" We have no idea if this will get any attention from the grocers or not, but at least it is an attempt. As they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The same petition will be used in couring a few other businesses like a hardware store, maybe another restaurant, etc. The leasing agent felt that it would be a great addition to this toolkit in attracting possible tenants. Rents are at an all time low. The landlord is very motivated and willing to work with new tenants, the RIGHT tenants. With the poor economy many businesses could actually benefit by moving as their costs would probably drop by being in our center.

So please make plans over the next few days to stop by the Cafe or our store and sign the petition. We have no idea what, if any, effect it will have. But let's give it a try.