Retail developer based in Dallas, Texas. Anything value add with good bones, I’m your guy. Location agnostic. DFW sports fan. All personal opinions no hate ✌🏻
Had a 3,000 restaurant tenant get quoted $720,000 just for buildout of a modest Italian restaurant in one of our strip centers. To clarify, that’s before and furniture, fixtures & equipment. 🤯
Half is all for the stuff you don’t see - HVAC, plumbing, electrical, grease trap…
Dallas coffee/drink wars continue:
Dutch Bros
Starbucks
7Brew
Scooters
White Rhino
White Rock
Black Rifle
Black Rock
151 Coffee
Dunkin
HTea0
Swig
Choose your tenant wisely!
One of biggest takeaways from
@ICSC
was
@McDonalds
is planning 900 locations in next four years. To further validate, met two new internal McDs CRE folks to manage the growth.
Send your best pad sites so we can work a Golden Arches deal!!
As we’ve developed more shopping centers, we’ve started providing tenants (especially first time retail tenants) the attached Turnover Letter to help guide them through lease signing to opening business.
@FranchiseMnA
List of competitors in D/FW (national tenants only mind you). All of them continuing to hunt for new units.
Sbux
Dutch
Scooters
7 Brew
Black Rifle
Black Rock
Dunkin
McDonalds/CosMcs
Tim Hortons
151 Coffee
Current projects in DFW with shovels in the ground:
-Dutch Bros Coffee, Fort Worth
-McDonalds, Garland
-Tom Thumb, Forney
-Jack in the Box, McKinney
-Hudson Oaks/Sherman apartments
Got a good site? DM me! Hungry as ever for product.
#crex
#dallascre
#crexi
Hit 1k followers today! Here’s the standard recap of who I am:
Retail developer in Dallas
Build and buy everything from 950SF Dutch Bros Coffee shops to 60,000+ SF grocery centers
Looking to acquire anything with good value add component or land with development potential
Going through a tenant default on 5,000 SF space including a patio in a shopping center we own. Never fun. We invested a hefty amount of TI into the space and tenant went out in the first year.
Here’s what happened: 🧵
Ace Hardware - 1.8 Acres - 15k sq ft building + side yard selling space
Working the BTS numbers today. Going to be hard to pencil with the rents were told franchisee can stomach.
Excellent tenant brand recognition though. Hope it works. 🤞🏻
The best brokers
Set the right expectations w/ a seller
Are responsive, punctual and follow up
Understand the market and know what is realistic vs phony
Likewise, the best buyers are
True to their word
Responsive
Know quickly if it’s a deal for them or not
Just made a deal in prime Salt Lake City suburb with
@aaronharrisDB
! ☕️
Was told we exclusively got the deal due to
@NNNIncome
lack of attendance at ICSC.
Worked this site in Midlothian, TX last year. Ended up dropping contract on it due to amount of hair on the deal but this is type of product we’re chasing.
You don’t pay a broker for the phone call it takes to present a site.
You pay a broker for the countless time and miles they’ve sunk into a relationship to be able to get you a quick reliable feedback.
Amazing how many developers don’t understand this.
Grocery development topic of the day - Site Planning and Pad User Integration.
We've got a national QSR taking a prime pad paying a prime ground lease for the pad in newest development. LFG!
Before we proceed , we need to see a layout. Here's where we start the lesson:
Got back from Destin this morning with the family. Awesome time. However RE question for the class:
How does the donut shop on 30A stay open? They crush it June - Aug. Absolutely crush it. You can’t get out for under $75-$100.
But has to be crickets other 9 months of the year?
Screenshot from our underwriting on a small pad deal. Couldn’t be simpler:
Cost to acquire the land and get it shovel ready.
Then what’s our basis PSF…
**Stereotypical 2k Follower Post**
Who am I?
CRE Developer based in Dallas TX
Who do I work for?
Small family office in Dallas - total
headcount of full timers - 5
What do I build?
60,000 SF grocery stores, 900 SF coffee DTs, 25,000 SF strip centers
Made this simple table for people first starting out in
#cre
. Helps outline different verticals in the business as well as how each get paid.
Realized when I graduated I had no idea and this helps visualize it a bit.
#commercialrealestate
#realestate
Pads available now out front of the newest grocery store in Dallas Fort Worth! DM me for info! We've already got Gas, Coffee, Car Wash, Tex-Mex & Nails signed up!
Latest single tenant deal about to hit the market in McKinney, TX with Jack in the Box! New construction, replaceable rent at $75k, grocery/fitness anchored center.
Common brokers don’t have the answer readily available when I ask “what’s the story on the other corners”
“We don’t own them, I don’t know” is not a good look but one I get often.
The best brokers give you that detail and context before I ask. It’s part of the overall story!
Grocery store leases are easily 100 pages+. Most important pages are as follows:
1. General terms - rent, SF, term
2. Guaranty - who’s the mothership on the lease
3. Development matrix - who’s responsible for what
4. PBAs - buildable areas, limits, uses *very very important!*
Working a deal with a restaurant that needs a patio. We intentionally planned for it with a larger than normal sidewalk (18') on our end cap.
Working with architects now to plan in accordance with ADA and maximize functionality. Excited to see the outcome.
Best two ways for retail/land/inv sales brokers to get listings:
Bring the initial development opportunity/land to the developer
Or
Have such a good tenant/roster of tenants that developers come to you
#cre
#RealEstate
Had the worst kind of response to an LOI today on a tract of land were chasing.
The dreaded “no thanks” response.
No context. No counter. Doesn’t completely shut the door but almost forces you to counter yourself to salvage any chance of deal. 🫠
I’ve got a great new 2nd gen building w/ a Drive Thru about to come to market!
-2,000 SF
-Walmart out parcel
-Dallas MSA
-Built 2020
Shout out
@TeamHerrold
&
@EduardoE_CRE
for bringing it our way!
Message me if you’ve got a tenant that has interest and I’ll get you details!
Best thing about medical retail tenants:
1. Typically very clean build out
2. Low parking intensive
3. Quality customer base
4. Typically have good credit
5. Space is releasable based on simple floor plan
What the right response when a local mom and pop tenant reached out three months into lease term saying business is super slow since opening and they need “help on the rent”?
A lot of right and wrong ways to handle it…
Fastest growing counties in Texas.
#1
and
#2
are Rockwall and Kaufman counties.
Where are the last two groceries stores we built in north Texas?
Rockwall and Kaufman county.
Retail follows the rooftops.
We bought both tract 4-5 years ago…that’s how you win.
Excited to hear Dr. Mark Dotzour speak tomorrow. Far and away my favorite economist. Has the driest sense of humor but best statistics in the CRE game. Will share favorite TX facts learned tomorrow
What level do you have to be to have your name on stuff you’ve never heard of and will likely never will hear of but likely will get paid on?
@kylematthewsceo
2nd MF deal to break ground in DFW suburbs in last 6 months for us. Immediately adjacent to major retail node + Texas Instruments/semiconductor boom happening in the city.
Found the site working the market for a retail tenant. Never underestimate value of getting in the car!
We bought an asset in 2018 and one of the lead tenants immediately went bankrupt and vacated 7,000SF of the building. We had conducted a tenant interview prior to purchasing and the possibility of that was never brought up by the tenant.
So…whose fault? Seller? Us? Tenant?
@3NDeveloper
Plus deal structure is outdated! NN player in a NNN environment is going to lose out on the A+ sites and sites where developer has a choice. Why would you pay for all the site work, building and TI costs when you can GL to Dutch? Short answer, smart developers don’t
Timing is everything. Ended up closing this sale today on an asset that has yet to start construction.
We showed the buyer the city approvals, rent history and communication from corporate.
Ultimately buyer needed to close in 2023 for tax purposes. Timing is everything!!!
Second maybe only to the coffee wars in Texas, national CAR WASHES listed below of the active players in the DFW market: 🧵
Club
Clearwater
Tommy’s
Super
Zips
Whitewater
Cleanfreak
Smittys
Ultra Clean
Mister
Site planning a +/- acre site we’ve got next to a car wash. Three different layouts we’re considering.
Never a strait forward formula. Have to find the right balance of GLA, parking, visibility, access, and frontage.
#Retail
#retwit
#RealEstate
Costs you only know of if you actual own property:
Insurnace
Taxes
Carry
Pursuit
Engineering / DD costs
Attorney
Closing
Commissions
Loan points
Survey
Demo
Grading
Add those up and you see how a $750k pad easily becomes a $1m basis in 6 months.
Here’s our Walmart anchored DT deal compliments of
@TeamHerrold
&
@EduardoE_CRE
in Ennis.
Perfect for any QSR looking to save on upfront building cost.
Message me with interest!!
Latest pet peeve with city ordinance/codes is why they dont just explicitly define common retail uses like a restaurant with a drive-thru? Why is it necessary to pretend like they dont exist or make it a nebulous description? Just creates confusion and wastes time.
@TripleNetInvest
Best in class operators will be okay. The lower rent/price point NNN assets will continue to trade at aggressive caps. A lot of the coffee QSRs are far below $200k rents and will continue to grow. (See
@dudewithacigar
)
Been 6 months since we signed an LOI with a national credit gas user and still waiting on tenant to execute the final version of the lease. Anybody else experiencing these same delightful turn around times??
Finally got around to listening to this.
Awesome development playbook for retail developers - ideal depth of site to cotenancy to parking.
You can tell when a developer is legit when they seldom talk about IRR or returns and instead talk about development challenges and
I was joined in studio by
@tyleralley24
so he could teach me how he builds stripmalls better than everyone else.
We go through the entire cycle:
Acquisition- working with economic developers
Design- the optimal strip center depth
Financing- with lots of tangents
Construction- so
@tyleralley24
Cardinal rule in strip development - never build out a tenant’s space. Ever.
Broke it once for an A+ tenant.
Had so many follow up repairs/maintenance/shit jobs post completion still wasn’t worth it.
Here is a Lease Outline Drawing of our shopping center going inline with our grocery store in Forney, TX.
The unique aspect of this building is a fully covered 'patio' in middle of the building with roll up garage door openings to allow 365 days use allowing max flexibility.
Sad to see
@SteveBrownDMN
go! Truly a legend at covering the DFW real estate market. Dont think there's a person out there who has connected with more owners and employers in the entire state. Hats off!
Finally connected at ICSC with
@TeamHerrold
Dude gets it. He’s already been happily providing market comps and tenant specific trends without ever meeting me.
In first ten mins he shares portfolio of off market leads. That’s how you add value vs just ask for a listing! 🔥
@tyleralley24
If you like the use for tenant A better for the center, give them a last shot prior to agreeing.
If both are equal, then no you shouldn’t feel bad for rewarding tenant B who stepped up first.
Change only if tenant A is repeat solid tenant or potential for multiple deals
Top Three Tuesday: 🧵
Top three creative ways to win deals:
1. Aggressive timing
2. Over the top earnest money deposit relative to deal size
2. Deliver of offer in person
@MUnitfranchisee
Man how crazy is that. Easy to overlook how much of a persons lively hood is involved in a small retail lease!!
Shout out to all the entrepreneurs and small business owners of the world
Deal Criteria:
Product: land, 2nd gen QSR, value add retail
Area: ANYWHERE but most active in TX
Size: no min or max land, building or price
Pros: tenant in tow, great real estate location, hard corner
Cons: meh real estate, $30/sf for unimproved dirt
Let’s talk!
The 2026 FIFA World Cup Final will be held in Dallas, per
@MartinLipton
.
MetLife Stadium was the runner-up, with FIFA expected to confirm more details this week.