Lucas, the Collin County suburb about 30 miles northeast of downtown Dallas, is about to trade some of its quiet-country vibe for grocery carts and curbside pickup. A new grocery-anchored shopping center planned for the town is already drawing heavy interest from retailers and restaurants, even before the project is finished.
The center is planned at roughly 130,000 square feet in total, built around a roughly 60,000-square-foot Tom Thumb. Plans call for a 25,000-square-foot restaurant village and multiple pad sites, and city and developer officials say it will be Lucas’ first full-service supermarket, along with a major new source of sales tax revenue.
Who’s building it
Developer Malouf Interests bought the 42-acre parcel at the northwest corner of Parker Road and Southview Drive (FM 1378), with financing tied to the retail project, according to loan records reviewed by The Real Deal. Marketing materials from Younger Partners describe a layout that includes a small public park and a cluster of restaurants alongside the grocery anchor.
Leasing scramble
Prospective tenants have wasted little time circling the site. Brokers are reporting unusually brisk demand for a market of Lucas’ size, according to the Dallas Business Journal. The outlet reports that the roughly 60,000-square-foot Tom Thumb is already under construction, and developers say they are fielding calls from regional and national restaurants and service operators all eager to lock in frontage near the grocery.
Why retailers are circling
Across North Texas, grocery-anchored centers have become some of the hottest tickets in retail real estate as vacancy tightens and grocers keep expanding, a trend documented by The Dallas Morning News. Brokers say steady grocery traffic delivers reliable weekly visits, which helps restaurants and service tenants hit sales targets faster than they typically would in non-anchored suburban strip centers.
Local impact
Lucas Mayor Dusty Kuykendall told Younger Partners the project will bring the town its “first true grocery store” and is expected to broaden the city’s sales-tax base that supports infrastructure and roads. Developers say the design is meant to balance commercial activity with green space so the center meshes with Lucas’ low-density residential character rather than overrunning it.
Timeline and next steps
Project filings and reporting indicate that construction on the Tom Thumb is already underway and the broader center is tracking toward shell completion later this year, with tenant buildouts to follow, according to the Dallas Business Journal and project documents. Leasing teams say pad-site availability is shrinking fast, so retailers and restaurateurs hoping for a spot along the new grocery corridor are being urged to get serious about negotiations now.
