A separate 14-acre site is slated for a commercial anchor that Mayor Jim Ross identified as a grocery store, near a new mixed-use development on a prime stretch of land along Interstate 30 near Arlington's Entertainment District. The site has sat largely vacant for more than a decade despite repeated attempts by the city to get something built there.
According to the Fort Worth Report, the City of Arlington and the Arlington Economic Development Corporation have purchased about 41 acres of vacant land at the northwest corner of Interstate 30 and North Collins Street since 2014. The site sits directly across the interstate from the Entertainment District. The Arlington City Council has voted unanimously to authorize the third-party creation of a master development plan covering roughly 27 acres of that assembled land, with Hines named as the firm that will plan the mixed-use project there. A separate 14-acre site outside that planning area is slated for sale to a large commercial anchor, which Ross identified as a grocery store.
Ross described the choice of developer in blunt terms, telling the outlet, “Hines is the right deal and a quality group.” The mayor's comments mark the clearest signal yet that the long-stalled parcel is moving toward an actual building plan. Separately, a grocery store is envisioned for a 14-acre commercial-anchor site outside Hines's planning area.
A Decade of Land Assembly Finally Pays Off
The city's land purchases stretch back years and came in pieces. Arlington bought roughly 18 acres at 1608 N. Collins St. in 2014, the same year it began assembling the broader tract, per the Fort Worth Report. More recently, the city bought approximately 20 acres for roughly $19 million and later sold that land to the Arlington Economic Development Corporation for the same amount.
An earlier attempt to develop the property did not pan out. The city tried working with Dallas-based Trammell Crow Company starting in 2015, an effort that ultimately proved unsuccessful, according to Lyndsay Mitchell as cited by the same report. That failed partnership underscores how long this particular I-30 corner has waited for a workable plan, even as other pieces of Arlington's development map have moved forward.
Grocery-Anchored Plans Echo Nearby Lincoln Square Redevelopment
The idea of pairing new retail with a grocery store is not unique to this site. The redevelopment of the former Lincoln Square shopping center, now branded Anthem, also calls for space built around a grocery store and an adjacent liquor store, with city commissioners there hoping to land a higher-profile grocer such as Trader Joe's, according to KERA.
Anthem sits at the southwest corner of Interstate 30 and Collins Street, serving as an entry point to the Entertainment District, and represents Trademark Property Co.'s planned investment of more than $135 million, Mayor Ross has said, as reported by Fort Worth Report. That project is expected to bring 404,000 square feet of retail, food and beverage, hospitality, entertainment and public space, with completion targeted for early 2028. Earlier versions of the Anthem plan had included hotels and multifamily apartments, but those components were removed because of market conditions, the outlet reported.
Why the City Says Vacant Land Has Been Costly
Arlington officials have pointed to the financial toll of leaving prominent commercial land undeveloped. In the case of Lincoln Square, the city estimated it was losing roughly $1 million a year in direct sales and property tax revenue because of the shopping center's lack of investment and empty storefronts, per the Fort Worth Report's July coverage. That same dynamic — large tracts sitting idle near one of the city's busiest corridors — has shaped how officials talk about the new Hines-led project across the highway.
Anthem's residential plans have also changed over time. KERA reported an early vision that included apartments, and the original approval included 355 apartment units. A later plan removed multifamily apartments, illustrating how market pressures have repeatedly reshaped Arlington's biggest redevelopment bets even after years of planning.
Other Projects Reshaping Arlington's Core
The Hines announcement adds to a run of mixed-use activity across Arlington in recent years. Downtown, the city approved an agreement in March under which Wolverine Interests would invest at least $60 million by 2029 to redevelop the 500 and 600 blocks of West Abram Street and the 400 and 500 blocks of West Main Street, according to the City of Arlington.
Closer to the Entertainment District, the Arlington City Council previously approved a $3.8 million grant for Arlington Center Square LLC to assemble land for what officials called a catalytic mixed-use project, as reported by WFAA. That proposal envisions a food hall, retail, restaurants, multifamily housing and structured parking, and a $54 million, 145-key upscale hotel on Division Street is already under construction as part of the surrounding push.
Not every ambitious Arlington proposal has come to fruition on the timeline first announced. Back in 2015, Greenway Investment Co. planned the $30 million Champions Park mixed-use development at Interstate 30 and Collins Street, envisioning an 80,000-square-foot mix of restaurants and shopping arranged around a grassy festival area, according to the Star-Telegram. Whatever ultimately becomes of the new Hines-led plan, it joins a corridor where the city has spent more than a decade trying to turn vacant acreage along I-30 into something residents can actually walk into.
