Business Buzz

The lowdown on what’s up with neighborhood businesses

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Half Price takeover

Half Price Books plans to develop the property around and including the Starbucks at the northeast corner of Northwest Highway and Shady Brook into a brand-new, bustling shopping center. The company, which operates 113 stores in 16 states, had been buying up the land in pieces for several years, and it secured the entire six acres with the purchase of the Starbucks in 2006. The time wasn’t right in 2006, but now that the economy is picking up, Half Price Books executive vice president Kathy Doyle Thomas says they’re ready to move forward with the development. Thomas and her team have been talking with national retailers and restaurants about options for the space, although she says she isn’t ready to reveal which stores her team and Lincoln Properties Co., who is their broker for the project, are talking with just yet. She does say that they’re not interested in cheap fast-food joints, and that they’re open to talking with local retailers or restaurants. Visit lakehighlands.advocatemag.com for the whole story. Search: half price books —Brittney Nunn

Dallas Arboretum parking expansion

In White Rock Lake news, early plans are in the works for the Dallas Arboretum’s parking garage on Garland Road adjacent to Kwik Kar. The location, which is zoned to be a parking garage, is now a paved lot that the Arboretum uses for employee and volunteer parking. The Arboretum hopes to build a parking structure with the capacity for about 1,200 cars. The building will include two levels underground and four levels above ground, and will peak at 34 feet, which is below the maximum height allowed by the Planned Development District. A 100-by-150-foot surface lot adjacent to the garage also will be used for parking. All the Arboretum must do now is file an application with the city for a special-use permit to build an underground walkway linking the garage with the park.