and across the state for new construction of restaurants. New projects around Denton include a BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse going in at Unicorn Lake and Corner Bakery Café and Pollo Tropical outside Golden Triangle Mall. For Verus, shopping centers that incorporate restaurant space alongside retail and office space are underway. On the west side of Teasley Lane, construction is underway across from Kroger for a 16,000-square-foot shopping center that will open in July with a Taco Bell, Anytime Fitness and Luxor Nail Salon. Two suites are available for lease. “I think it will be the coolestlooking retail building in Denton,” Johnson said. “It has a lot of granite tile on the outside and different metals. We’re trying to depart from your typical brick and stone retail center and go with something a lot more modern.” A similar center is being built near Little Elm at U.S. Highway 380 and Navo Road. That area is growing rapidly and a new high school is being built across the street from the center, which Johnson expects will have national retail tenants. Renovations are happening at older buildings in the area to make room for new retail. Mattress Depot will open in a former dry cleaner on University Drive this year, and Ramsey is working toward Roy’s Wash and Dry opening on McKinney Street in the coming months. DOWNTOWN DENTON Real estate on the Square also is updating to fit new businesses. In the coming weeks, NV Cupcakes and Sprockets Bike Shop will open on West Hickory Street in a conjoined space that the business owners renovated mostly on their own. The two businesses had different locations but thought moving to the Square would increase foot traffic and improve business, said Ngoc Nguyen, co-owner of NV Cupcakes. “Hopefully this will be a good space for us,” she said. “When you first walk in, it’s divided into three, so I’m on the first lefthand side, then the middle will have a bar area to sit down, and everything else is [Sprockets].”
13 Denton Business Chronicle
Jun. 2014
The former Wienerschnitzel and Mi Casita at the corner of Interstate 35E and Loop 288 outside Golden Triangle Mall was demolished last month, as construction projects around the mall and I-35E expansion work continue. Next door, Hypnotic Donuts is overhauling the old Denton Radio building with the help of Verus, Johnson said. The project was delayed because the building was not up to code, so they have gutted the building, dropped the floor and added allnew utilities, Johnson said. “It’s a complete renovation underway,” he said. “It’s going to be a really cool atmosphere with an outdoor patio in the front, and we are handing the building over to them for their own interior renovations soon.” According to construction permits filed with the city, construction is underway at other existing buildings downtown, including one for Bet the House
Barbecue on Elm Street. Christina Davis, a marketing specialist with the city’s economic development department, said properties in the area are under renovation pending tenants near Elm and Oak streets, and that a tattoo parlor, yoga studio and coffee house should join the scene by the end of the year. RESIDENTIAL, MIXED-USE Very close to Hypnotic Donuts, Links is working on the H Squared apartment complex, which will bring one- and twobedroom apartments to the Square. The ground floor is planned for retail space, Ramsey said. “Hickory Street will be fin-
ished in August,” he said. “We have a few commercial tenants who are already interested, so that’s exciting.” That is one of the developments Links is building to help keep young professionals in the area. They also are building a larger complex at Unicorn Lake, with the first phase expected to be complete by the end of the summer. Both apartment complexes will have high-end features like granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances. The Unicorn Lake apartment project is going so well that phase two will begin in the fall, and the developers have decided to add a third phase that wasn’t
in the original plan. That phase will feature 16,000 square feet of additional office and retail space, with construction scheduled to begin in the spring. Projects are expected to pick up in the coming months, as construction tends to peak during the summer, though Johnson said this year already has outdone itself. “We’re just so excited about the way the year has started off, and I don’t think it’s just us,” he said. “I think in general the whole market is on fire.” JENNA DUNCAN can be reached at 940-566-6889 and via Twitter at @JennaF Duncan.