By Pegasus News wire
MURPHY — Murphy Marketplace, a 570,000-square-foot shopping complex, will celebrate its next phase of retail openings with the debut of Sprouts Farmers Market on October 29, Langford Property Company officials announced today.
The $90-million shopping and lifestyle destination center is on track with all plans for its growth since its groundbreaking in March 2007, said Eric Langford, president of Langford Property Company and owner of Murphy Marketplace, located at the intersection of FM 544 and Murphy Road in East Collin County.
Sprouts Farmers Market will open to the public on October 24. The official ribbon cutting will take place on Wednesday, October 29 at 10:30 a.m., starting with a dedication of a stunning clock tower that has been made possible by funding from Langford Property Company and a $10,000 gift from the Murphy Chamber of Commerce. The clock is a creation of renowned company Verdin, founded in 1842. Following the clock dedication, Sprouts Farmers Market, the Murphy Chamber of Commerce and Langford Property Company will host a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the official grand opening of the new specialty grocer – East Collin County’s first.
Sprouts Farmers Market, an Arizona-based company, is one of the nation’s fastest growing retailers sprouting in Arizona, California, Texas, and Colorado. Sprouts specializes in farm fresh produce, purchased from local growers when possible. Sprouts also offers a large selection of vitamins and supplements, all natural meats, fresh seafood, bins full of bulk foods, an extensive selection of natural and organic grocery items, rBST free milk, imported cheeses, deli meats and more. For weekly ads and other nutritional information visit www.sprouts.com. Store hours: 8am-10pm.
“We’re continuing on our fast track and are so pleased with the response from Murphy and East Collin County,” said real estate developer Eric Langford of Langford Property Company, and owner of Murphy Marketplace. “Everyone is eagerly anticipating the opening of Sprouts, of course. Lowe’s opened in July and has full parking lots all the time. We’ve continued to sign up more retail and restaurants, have more about to close, and are securing tenants for Phase IV of our development.”
Murphy Marketplace is an innovative development that is now home to leading retail brands and is a unique lifestyle destination for East Collin County.
“We are looking forward to opening our doors in the Murphy community and offering them a place they have desired to have! Sprouts as a natural foods grocery store where you can get healthy living for less,” said Kevin Seei, Regional Director, Sprouts Farmers Market. ” I look forward to being part of this event and community!”
Current Director and 2007 Murphy Chamber of Commerce Chairman Jon Lashbrook remarked, “The Murphy Chamber is proud to see Sprouts Farmers Market open and join our organization. It has been so cool to watch the Marketplace develop, and the 29th will be a big day with Sprouts’ Grand Opening and the dedication of that incredible clock. We are all really proud to commemorate our Chamber’s 5th birthday by partnering with Eric Langford to bring this fabulous timepiece to our citizens,” said Lashbrook. “Our Chamber continues to grow, and as we do, we are able to do more things to benefit Murphy like this, our Scholarship Foundation and our involvement in helping Murphy celebrate her 50th. Was that great or what? Big things are happening in and around Murphy. Come and see the great things we are doing here!”
Covering nearly 76 acres, Murphy Marketplace’s tenants includes such major national brands as Lowe’s, Sprouts Farmers Market, 24-Hour Fitness, Wachovia Bank, Saxby’s, Massage Envy, Monarch Dental, Red Brick Pizza, Smoothie Factory, Planet Tan, Mattress Giant, Azura Nail Spa, Firehouse Subs, Cristina’s Fine Mexican Restaurant, T-Mobile, Whataburger and more. The site has been popular with retailers because it is the major crossroads between Central Expressway on the west and Highway 78 on the east, and between Firewheel Mall to the south and Southfork Ranch/Allen Main Street to the north. The pending expansion of Murphy Road (FM 2551) to six lanes will further cement this intersection as the most important one in the sub-region.
The acquisition of the final, 14-acre tract took place March 31 and makes the eastern project boundary at Maxwell Creek, providing an elegant eastern terminus.
The City of Murphy approved spending nearly $450,000 to reconstruct North Maxwell Creek Road between FM 544 and the DART right-of-way. The plan includes sidewalks, deceleration lanes off FM 544, landscaping and a neighborhood entrance. The plan connects Murphy Marketplace with the city’s hike and bike trail system. Approximately half of the new tract is planned to become a city park.
“The City of Murphy continues to be a marvelous partner in the Murphy Marketplace venture,” Langford said. “We have continued to successfully implement a new model for these types of retail projects that involves a true collaboration among the city, its staff and residents and the developer.”
Amenities will include park areas throughout the development, upgraded lighting, a 35-foot tall interactive fountain, quality building materials, enhanced landscaping and special signage treatments. The city is providing sales tax rebates to assist in the beautification and long term stability of the project.
“We will be announcing even more tenants in the coming weeks,” said Langford.
Steve Ewing and Heather Winn of Staubach Retail represent Langford Property Company in the leasing of Murphy Marketplace.
The architecture for the site, designed by award-winning O’Brien & Associates, reflects a classic style and the history of Murphy.
The town of Murphy was established in the late 1800s during the time the railroad was extended into the area. It quickly became a shipping hub for the local farming and ranching families. As it did for other Texas towns, the railroad gave Murphy residents the opportunity to import building materials that were not locally available. Bricks that were mass-produced in Bedfordshire and slates from North Wales could now be incorporated into the construction of new buildings.
Along with these new materials came the “Victorian” architectural style. The Victorians invented a way to make big panes of glass, called “sheet glass.” So Victorian houses had bigger windows. Victorians also loved to decorate their houses by embellishing these large windows and by adding bay windows, iron railings, Flemish bonding and other decorative brickwork patterns. Early Murphy residents were quick to adopt this affluent style into their new homes.
Murphy Marketplace has masterfully blended many of these stylistic elements into the architectural design of this new retail center. Along with a palette of soft earth tone colors the simple building lines, colorful canopies, decorative lighting and artful landscaping will result in a clean, fresh and stimulating visual experience. Walking paths, shade trees, water features and gathering areas will also provide a place to stroll, play and visit with friends.
Additional improvements to the property include a total remodeling of the Verizon switching station (at the 544/2551 intersection) and a North Texas Municipal Water District Pump Station at Hawthorne Drive/544, to be consistent with Murphy Marketplace’s architecture. Retaining these facilities has allowed the development to provide park-like amenities at crucial entrance locations to the property.
Total budget for the project is estimated at over $90,000,000. Sales and property tax income upon full completion to the City of Murphy in excess of $3,000,000 per year.
The Murphy Marketplace development project is led by Drew Watson of Pritchard Associates. Ted Murday of Adams Engineering is the lead engineer for Murphy Markpetplace. The primary general contractor for the project is MYCON General Contractors.
According to the City of Murphy, the median household income for Murphy is $111,000-plus. Nearly 90 percent of the city’s residents are college-educated. The city’s population has more than quadrupled since 2000, from 3,000 residents to more than 14,000 in early 2006. FM 544 supports traffic of nearly 40,000 vehicles per day. Murphy has also ranked consistently as one of the top eight leading North Texas suburbs, ranked by D Magazine.