Arlington is doubling down on Sam Mahrouq’s bid to reimagine one of the city’s most tired commercial corridors.
City council signed off on a $3.8 million Chapter 380 grant Nov. 18 to help his firm Mahrouq Enterprises International assemble the last parcels needed for a sweeping mixed-use redevelopment along East Division Street, a key connector between downtown, UT Arlington and the city’s stadium-packed Entertainment District, the Dallas Business Journal reported.
The grant is for two land purchases: 806 East Division Street, a 0.3-acre plot that’s currently home to a tire shop, and 632 East Front Street, a 0.6-acre vacant tract. The incentives are meant to unlock what staff describe as a “catalytic” project that could feature a food hall, multifamily, retail, restaurants and structured parking.
Mahrouq has started construction on Caravan Court, a 145-key upscale hotel at 205 North Collins Street, after receiving $8 million in incentives last year.
Mahrouq has emerged as the city’s most influential player on Division Street. He previously received a $7 million grant for keeping his company Ikon Technologies in Arlington while helping the city chart a redevelopment strategy for the corridor. Mahrouq has said he intends for Caravan Court to be the spark that helps shift Division Street’s identity away from its long-standing cluster of auto dealerships — many of which he owns — and toward something closer to Dallas’ transformed former industrial strips.
City officials appear to agree. Economic development director Gus Garcia called Division Street a crucial link tying together the city’s marquee districts and said the partnership with Mahrouq is part of a coordinated push to revive a corridor Arlington has been trying to reinvent for more than two decades.
The new agreement lays out a staged timeline: a conceptual brief within 18 months, construction drawings within 36, financing secured by month 54 and vertical construction underway within 60. Arlington will also enter a long-term parking lease on the property, which Mahrouq’s group can later buy out if the full project proceeds.
— Eric Weilbacher
Read more
Valencia, Mahrouq greenlighted for $54M hotel project in Arlington
Texas Rangers announce new anchor for Choctaw Stadium in Arlington Entertainment District
Trademark gears up for Lincoln Square overhaul in Arlington
Loews buys hotel next to $550M, 900-key it is building in Arlington
