Dean Kirkland isn’t exactly letting the grass grow on his east Vancouver/Camas development project. The 192nd Station, located at Southeast 192nd Avenue and 15th Street to 20th Street, which Kirkland owns with business partner Tom Files, is entering a new phase of development.
Blacktop for 480 parking spaces, a four-to-one parking-to-tenant square footage ratio, is underway for phase two of the 6.05 acre retail development site.
Kirkland said 90 percent of the retail space for the under-construction project is already leased. He estimates the current phase of the project will be completed by the first quarter
of 2012.
The average lease rate is $28.50 per square foot with 25,000 square feet under construction, according to Kirkland. Leasing is 100 percent for the first phase of the project, which has 10,000 square feet of retail space. Once complete, the entire project will be 120,000 square feet, Kirkland said.
Kirkland attributes strong leasing rates to the aggressive pursuit of potential tenants.
“No more just hanging a sign and waiting,” Kirkland said, adding that calling upon prospective tenants has been a cornerstone to the project’s leasing success.
Tenants for the new phase of the project include restaurants, a hair salon and an orthodontist.
The first phase of the project cost about $12 million. Kirkland estimates the entire project will run about $50 million, a sum that includes the purchase of the 6.05 acres of land.
Building during a down-turned economy has helped Kirkland with lower material costs, he said. With 85,000 square feet left to build (after the most current phase is completed), Kirkland estimates the entire project will be complete in about three years.
“We’re going to be methodical about it,” he said.
