The City of Garland and GroundFloor Development have partnered to realize a $30 million commercial redevelopment project for the west side of downtown. Over the past two years, both parties have been actively working on this very challenging, but exciting major reinvestment project to be constructed on the northwest corner of South Garland Avenue and West Avenue B. Representing the first phase of what is intended to be a much larger mixed use development, this sizeable anchor investment will launch the transformation of the entire block into a modern residential, retail and services hub in a part of downtown that has thus far struggled to realize its full redevelopment potential. In total, the approximately 4-acre site is currently home to Chase Bank, a vacant former Wyatt Cafeteria, Commonwealth Land Title Company and a few other small businesses. Phase I will consist of demolishing the 11,000 square foot former cafeteria building and replacing it with much denser new construction in the form of The Draper, a three-story, 155-unit residential complex. As perks for future residents, the new apartments will include a community-oriented amenity center, an outdoor pool, as well as “tuck-under” garages. Looking to Phase II of the project, plans call for the existing 5-story, 1960s-era Chase Bank building to be fully renovated for new tenants, with Chase Bank remaining as the primary retail services anchor. Upon completion, the center will be a modern mixed use housing development, to which GroundFloor is rapidly realizing a strong development and market specialty in Texas. Case in point, the company is currently working on a sizeable mixed use development in Austin set to open soon, which will include a public market surrounded by a new hotel and office space. “We have big plans for The Draper, and we’re envisioning a renewal of Garland’s West downtown commercial activity while catalyzing future growth,” said Mark Drumm, a partner with GroundFloor. “Partnering with the City, we hope to add another successful modern housing development to our portfolio in Texas.” The Draper will be a community-oriented living space geared towards professionals who are seeking a more urban living lifestyle in a centralized community location. Residents will be walking distance away from various shops, restaurants and entertainment venues on the Downtown Garland Square. They will also be close to the Downtown Garland DART light rail station, where residents will have access to the greater D-FW Metroplex. “After many months of hard work, we are extremely excited to see The Draper finally come together and look to provide the west side of Downtown Garland with a much needed development catalyst project. We’re happy to support GroundFloor with this first phase, especially as we seek to further focus our efforts on redevelopment projects in the City’s historic downtown core,” said David Gwin, director of Garland’s Economic Development Department. Major redevelopment projects have been on the city’s radar for a while, as Garland continues to mature and is now largely built out particularly in the central core of the community. Recent residential redevelopment in downtown include the City Square Lofts off of Avenue B and Glenbrook in the former Bank of America building. This project resulted in the entirely repurposed 4-story office building into the now 126-unit apartment complex, while increasing the site’s real estate value from $460,000 to $7 million.

With the latest acquisition of three additional buildings in the IH-20 West Business Park, Fort Worth-based Corinth Land Co. and Dallas-based Prattco Creekway Industrial (PCI) now own nine of the business park’s 30 buildings, or 30 percent of the complex. The latest acquisitions include 6575 Corporation Parkway (39,500 square feet), 6590 Corporation Parkway (17,000 square feet) and 6656 Corporation Parkway (15,000 square feet) in Fort Worth. All are 100 percent occupied by Summit Casing. The purchase was financed by Veritex Bank with equity provided by Western Production Company and PCI. “We continue to be strategic in our acquisitions in Fort Worth and North Texas in general,” said Corinth Land Co. president and founder, Paun Peters. “When you consider the magnitude of Walsh Ranch and other key developments planned for the area, investing in this space continues to meet our short and long-term indicators.” This is the ninth partnership acquisition for Corinth Land and PCI, marking an investment of $50 million and approximately 700,000 square feet of industrial space in North Texas. “Industrial development and investment continue to be a strong sector, despite the economic challenges that the pandemic has brought to 2020,” said Lance Bozman, PCI managing partner. “We look forward to even more opportunity for industrial investments in 2021 and hope for brighter macro-economic days ahead.” Founded by Peters in 2006, Corinth Land Co.’s initial focus was providing oil and gas surface sites and easements in the Barnett Shale. Peters sold the company’s holdings in 2016 and is now focused on the acquisition, development and operation of commercial and residential real estate assets in strategic locations. Bozman was formerly a managing director of a $1 billion AIG/Lincoln portfolio that comprised 4 million square feet of industrial and commercial investments. PCI managing partner Chad Lunsford spent 20 years at GE Capital Real Estate and has a deep background in risk management, underwriting and operations serving in various management and leadership positions.