Fehmi Karahan and the Legacy (Developments)

When Dallas-area developer Fehmi Karahan began shopping around a mixed-use project in the Dallas suburb of Plano, TX, his lender didn’t want to underwrite an office component. The year was 1998, and critics were skeptical of an open-air retail center, not to mention one that was close to Shops at Willow Bend and Stonebriar, both of which were enclosed regional malls.

Twenty years later, Karahan Companies’ mixed-use Legacy West, developed with partners KDC and Columbus Realty, has been a huge success, while the open-air Shops at Legacy has proven to be a good draw for companies such as Toyota and FedEx. Malls are struggling, while mixed-use centers are thriving. Karahan discussed his experiences with Invesco Real Estate’s Greg Kraus at a recent gathering of The Real Estate Council of Dallas. “Companies are attracted to Legacy because it’s an urban core,” Karahan said. “Corporations want to give their employees the best amenities.”

Could Legacy West be reproduced in another area, such as South Dallas? Karahan’s response: No. Many factors would need to come together to create a project that could rival the $3 billion development at Legacy Drive and Dallas North Tollway, he pointed out. Legacy’s success can be traced to large, employable populations, active retail environments – and vision of the Ross Perot family, which owned the 2,600-acre land on which Shops at Legacy and Legacy West are built.

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