News
Outside the (Big) Box
March 10, 2011
| We're not sure what inspired Structure Commercial prez Eric Deuilletto make this deal, but it is just that—inspired. He helped connect abowling alley looking for a new location with an empty Tom Thumb store in Carrollton. Clean up on Aisle 14?s now as easy as a sweeper. | |
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| We snapped Eric looking over multiple location site maps. The basic deal points: Pin Action Bowl, a Super Bowl Entertainment affiliate, is a bowling group with multiple locations in the Southwest. Eric went through multiple attempts to locate the bowling alley at different centers. Making this deal happen involved getting cooperation from the city, Eric tells us. ?This is a huge deal. Not just for the intersection, but for Carrollton, as they have very few entertainment draws.? Pin Action eventually inked a 20-year deal for the almost 53k SF former Tom Thumb at 2810 E Trinity Mills, with plans for 48 lanes, a restaurant, bar, gaming area, and meeting rooms. | |
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| The alley started construction recently, and aims for a Q3 opening. Eric says Capstone Commercial's Mark Pierce (who repped the tenant) originally explored the idea of an empty Kroger that Eric repped in Carrollton, but the deal wasn't moving fast enough, so Eric worked with the Tom Thumb owners, Dunhill Partners, and the city as an alternative. The big challenge: finding an owner that saw the upside of converting a grocery store into a bowling alley. There are only so many organic grocery stores out there, and every broker is going after Sprouts and bounce house businesses, he says. With no bowling alleys in the immediate area, the Pin Action Bowl plans to have a Dave & Busters-style atmosphere with the Extra Frame Bar & Grill. The company recycles lanes from closed bowling alleys and plans to have 48 in this location. | |
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| Eric's no Ernie McCracken (the guy from Kingpin), but he's doing quite well for himself. His firm, which he started four years ago, is now leasing more than 3M SF of retail and about 1M SF of office and industrial in the DFW area. He's getting calls from owners of retail shopping centers that have hit 30% to 50% vacancy and taken many to 90% or higher occupancy, he tells us. The latest exclusive listings include an almost 138k SF Kroger-anchored shopping center at 2740 Valwood in Farmers Branch; a 178k SF Hobby Lobby-anchored center at 2540 Old Denton Rd in Carrollton; and two smaller centers in Arlington. ?The centers at Main and Main are easy to fill; these centers are the ones that need someone to go work 'em,? he says. While he isn't an avid bowler, in his down time he likes to travel with his family, play indoor soccer and the occasional gig as a singer/guitarist for a few rock bands. | |
