Malouf Interest Buys Collin County Land for Retail Project

North Texas’ hot retail market has proven the demand for development, and Malouf Interests is getting on board.

The Dallas-based developer purchased 42 acres in Lucas, a city in Collin County about 30 miles from Dallas, according to a news release.

Younger Partners’ Michael Ytem and Tom Grunnah represented Malouf and the seller, JCBR Holdings. The sale price was not disclosed, but Malouf bought the property with a $6.42 million loan from Veritex Community Bank, loan documents show. The debt pencils out to $152,900 per acre.

Younger Partners Buys Collin County Land for Retail Project — Rendering of planned Collin County retail project (Malouf Interest, Getty)

Malouf plans to develop a grocery-anchored retail project on the parcel, which is at the intersection of Parker Road and Southview Drive. Plans include a 130,000-square-foot shopping center, 25,000 square feet for restaurants and a community park. Construction is set to start in the fourth quarter and wrap up in 2026.

It will deliver Lucas’ “first true grocery store,” Mayor Dusty Kuykendall said in the release.

Lucas has a population of about 8,600. The community is experiencing the growth wave that’s expanded the Metroplex northeast from Dallas. Lucas’ population jumped almost 14 percent between 2020 and 2023.

The Great Recession and the decline of the American mall had experts predicting the death of retail in the 2010s, leading developers to avoid development. As a result, the recent retail boom has been fueled by limited supply, driving up retail rents.

Vacancy in the Dallas-Fort Worth retail market was 4.7 percent in the fourth quarter, near historic lows, according to Partners Real Estate. The average asking rent was $20.08 per square foot, an increase of 4.5 percent from a year before.