Today, developer Peter Brodsky laid out a new play for The Shops at RedBird: instead of chasing only classic retail anchors, he wants to stack the property with professional and medical tenants who show up like clockwork on weekdays and need somewhere nearby for lunch. The plan hinges on converting large former department-store spaces into clinics, offices and service uses that can feed restaurants and other daily-use businesses across the site.
Brodsky's comments surfaced in a report describing his push to "bring more professional and medical uses to lure a lunch crowd" at the mixed-use complex off West Camp Wisdom Road. As reported by the Dallas Business Journal, he framed the strategy as a way to create predictable daytime visits that support onsite restaurants and service tenants instead of leaving them at the mercy of weekend shopping patterns.
Children's Health Moves Into the Macy's Footprint
Children's Health has already committed to one of the biggest medical presences at RedBird, planning a roughly 39,450 to 40,000 square foot specialty center inside the former Macy's footprint, according to reporting by D Magazine. The RedBird location is slated to include urgent and primary care, behavioral health services and pediatric specialty clinics, offerings that typically generate steady weekday traffic and longer onsite stays than a quick retail run.
Why Medical Tenants Fit the Redevelopment Playbook
Across the country, developers have leaned into healthcare tenants because clinics and professional offices bring dependable, repeat visits that make adjacent dining and retail far more viable during lunch hours and regular workdays. In other words, a consistent flow of patients and staff can be a more reliable lifeline for a coffee shop than a once-in-a-while sale at a big-box store.
The Shops at RedBird's master plan and tenant list, which already includes UT Southwestern, Parkland clinics, education centers and service providers, reflects that mixed-use approach, according to previous coverage by The Dallas Morning News.
How This Could Reshape the Neighborhood's Retail Mix
The pivot comes after some traditional anchors have fallen away, including the much-watched Tom Thumb grocery plan that never fully materialized. As reported by The Real Deal, Albertsons' Tom Thumb pulled out of its RedBird plans in December 2024, underscoring why non-retail tenants can look more dependable on a long-term lease sheet.
In the meantime, community-facing additions such as the Dallas College RedBird workforce center and training programs have already begun drawing consistent daytime users to the property, according to an update from the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas. That kind of traffic is exactly what restaurant operators like to see before they sign on.
Brodsky and his partners say leasing and build-outs for the next wave of tenants will unfold over the coming months, with Children's Health expecting to open its RedBird specialty center in late 2027, per the health system's expansion materials. If the bet pays off, the former mall could trade the boom and bust cycles of big-box retail for steadier daytime commerce that keeps sandwich counters and coffee shops busy year-round.
