Have you heard about the latest plans for the Dr Pepper building at Mockingbird and Central?

Architect Larry Good’s plans recently attracted favorable marks from nearby neighborhood organizations and historic preservationists. The project includes a Barnes and Noble bookstore as an anchor tenant. The store will occupy more than 40,000 square feet, making it the largest bookstore in the Southwest.

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A Marshall’s department store, two smaller retail tenants and professional offices on the third floor will complete the tenant mix.

The leases were being finalized at press time, but were expected to be for 20 years with five-year renewal options.

The long-term leases to high-quality tenants, combined with incentives due to the building’s historic landmark status, should make the project economically viable for Dal-Mac.

Everyone who worked together on this arduous process deserves a thanks.

FROM SEARS TO FIESTA: As reported in the Advocate recently, Fiesta food stores has confirmed its plans to build a retail center on the soon-to-be-demolished Sears store on Ross Avenue. The site was purchased by a Houston development company with plans to redevelop it with a Fiesta store and retail space for smaller tenants. More specific plans should be unveiled soon, with the store opening in 1996.

A STOP FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD: There’s a possibility that a Knox-Henderson DART station could be added to the transit agency’s North Central line. The Vickery Place Neighborhood Association recently was briefed by DART officials about how the station could be added.

The recent rapid development, both retail and multifamily, on the west side of the Central Expressway, plus neighborhood interest on the east side makes the neighborhood a good candidate for a station. In addition, projects in other cities show that a well-planned transit station can increase property values.

MUNGER PLACE DISPUTE ENDS: The City Council settled the long-running controversy in the Munger Place neighborhood over the retail properties at the intersection of Collett and Reiger. In a unanimous decision, the Council voted to retain the existing single-family zoning in most of the area, while backzoning one of the two general retail lots to single-family and leaving the other one as-is.

While the retail business owners could attempt a legal challenge to the Council’s action, litigation would be costly and time consuming, and the Court would probably uphold the City’s zoning authority.

The business owners could also apply for a zoning change at some point.

AMENDING 99: A public hearing may be called by the City Plan Commission to consider amendments to Planned Development to District 99 along Gaston Avenue from Fitzhugh to the Lakewood Shopping Center. The amendments, which are being developed by a community group, would provide incentives for preservation and renovation of existing older structures while ensuring that new construction is compatible with adjoining properties. The existing PD would be divided into subdistricts by permitted uses, and architectural criteria would be drafted for the area.