Following its February 2008 acquisition of Solvay Engineered Polymers, Inc., LyondellBasell one of the worlds largest polymers, petrochemicals and fuels company announced Monday, plans to consolidate its North American based polypropylene compounding production and close its Grand Prairie facility.
Continue reading "LyondellBasell announces plans to close Grand Prairie facility" »
The Lake Prairie Methodist Family Health Center will open Tuesday, June 10 in the Lake Prairie Towne Crossing shopping center at State Highway 360 and Camp Wisdom Road. The new 5,500 square foot facility is the sixth Methodist Family Health Center, and will offer a broad range of services including family physicals, treatment for colds, childhood illnesses, cuts, sprains, sports injuries, diabetes, hypertension, and chronic illnesses. Gerald George, DO, a family practice physician with MedHealth and on the medical staff at Methodist Health System, will serve as the primary physician at the facility. A second physician will join the practice this summer.
“Methodist is delighted for MedHealth’s expansion of its health care presence to Lake Prairie and the surrounding communities,” said Laura Irvine, President of Methodist Mansfield Medical Center. “This beautiful new facility will be home to outstanding physicians and will help Methodist in its continuing mission to bring quality health care even closer to the communities we serve.”
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On Saturday, the Nottingham Gas Lease Association (NGLA) announced that an agreement has been reached, recommending homeowners lease their mineral rights to Reagan Energy Service of Lafayett, LA, working on behalf of the driller, Carrizo Oil & Gas.
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Continue reading "Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH Signs with Prime Outlets - Grand Prairie" »
The purchase of the former Winn Dixie grocery located at 1100 N. Carrier Parkway will be an agenda item on Thursday’s Grand Prairie Independent School District Board of Trustees meeting. The school district plans to develop the property into an Accelerated High School.
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MedVance Institute, a leading healthcare career training provider, has arrived in Grand Prairie. The school, which has nine campuses in Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas, recently opened its tenth, and newest, campus at 401 East Palace Parkway.
Continue reading "New campus offers training for professional careers in healthcare" »
Prime Retail announced today Neiman Marcus Last Call will open a 28,000 square foot location at its newest center, Prime Outlets - Grand Prairie.
"Prime Outlets' shoppers not only desire great style, but leading designer and brand-name fashions," said Senior Vice President of Marketing Karen Fluharty. "We are delighted to welcome Neiman Marcus Last Call as a key retailer in our line-up of designer names."
NASCAR team owner Richard Childress Racing (RCR) announced Tuesday that Grand Prairie based American Eurocopter has joined the RCR as an associate sponsor of the No. 29 Holiday Inn/Holiday Inn Express Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS for the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series season.
Continue reading "American Eurocopter joins RCR family of sponsors" »
With the spring harvest season approaching, the North Central Texas Farmers Market will open May 22 at a new location, the City Hall Liberty Bell, Adair and NW 4th.
Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company, announced Friday that the U.S. Department of Defense has awarded a $10.4 billion, five-year Multi-Year Procurement contract for 167 V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft to a strategic alliance between Bell Helicopter and The Boeing Company. Portions of the V-22 Osprey are manufactured in Grand Prairie with final assembly in Amarillo, Texas.
Continue reading "Bell gets five year contract for V-22 Osprey" »
American Eurocopter in Grand Prairie announced Friday that Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, Virginia has chosen the EC145 to replace a Bell 412 in its Life-Guard air ambulance fleet.
Continue reading "Virgina clinic selects American Eurocopter aircraft" »
The aerospace industry in Grand Prairie continues to be strong with Thursday’s report that Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. had a net income of $46.3 million for 2007 compared to a $36.7 million loss in 2006.
Prime Retail, one of the nation’s largest developers of outlet malls, today announced Dalpos Architects, LLC and TCB, Inc as the architectural and engineering development partners for Prime Outlets – Grand Prairie.
Dalpos Architects, LLC is an award winning, Syracuse, NY based firm, founded in 1971. Its building projects include regional shopping malls, hotels, office buildings and high-end residential.
TCB, Inc is a Texas based engineering, planning and project management company founded in 1946.
Ground breaking for Prime Outlets – Grand Prairie is slated for this fall. The 485,000 square foot open air, upscale shopping outlet will be located near Great Southwest Parkway and Interstate 20. With 120 top designer and name brand outlet stores, 2,700 parking spaces, on-site food court, and restaurant locations surrounding the outlet center it will be the region’s largest shopping destination.
Prime Retail expects to have Prime Outlets – Grand Prairie open to shoppers for the 2009 holiday season.
Prime Retail, one of the largest and most successful developers of outlet centers across the country, announced today the City of Grand Prairie signed the official development agreement for the leading U.S. developer to begin construction on its newest outlet shopping destination this fall.
Following contract approval in October 2007 from the City of Grand Prairie City Council, Prime Outlets - Grand Prairie will feature 485,000 square feet of gross leasable area, along with more than 2,700 parking spaces, and is slated to open to shoppers in time for the 2009 holiday season. The development agreement, which also includes off-site improvements such as roadway reconfiguration and revamped traffic patterns for the new 64-acre site, was signed February 20.
Located on the north side of Interstate 20, between the future extension of the TX-161 toll way and 360, Prime Outlets - Grand Prairie will be built between the existing Garden Ridge and Cardinal Healthcare. In addition to Great Southwest Parkway, I-20 and SH 360, Sara Jane Parkway will be extended through to State Highway 360, providing additional access to the property in 2012.
"Grand Prairie is a wonderful market for the upscale and luxury outlet shopper," said Chief Operating Officer Nicholas King, Prime Retail. "When construction is complete, Prime Outlets - Grand Prairie will not only bring nearly 2,000 jobs to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, but the most compelling mix of world-renown designer and name brands available to shoppers at everyday savings of 25 to 65 percent off retail prices."
Designed in an open air architectural style environment, Prime Outlets - Grand Prairie will feature 120 outlet stores and an on-site food court along with restaurant sites surrounding the outlet center.
Louisville Ladder, one of the nations leading manufacturers of ladders, will move their regional distribution center to Grand Prairie.
Enith Hauenstein, Marketing Director, said Louisville Ladder signed a lease on a 65,000 square foot warehouse in the Parkway Distribution Center, 823 Heinz Way. She said the company plans to close their Dallas location and begin regional distribution operations in Grand Prairie on March 3.
Grand Prairie based Site Concrete, Inc. pleaded guilty in United States District Court to making false statements to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and was sentenced to five years probation and fined $30,000.
Site Concrete operated a construction project that installed drinking water lines in the Collin County town of Fairview.
To prove the safety of the water lines the EPA required Site Concrete to provide water samples for microbiological analysis. Several samples submitted to the EPA lab prior to May 6, 2006 showed microbiological contamination.
Site Concrete admitted it later provided uncontaminated water samples to the EPA that was obtained from other water sources.
Grand Prairie continues to strengthen its position in the aviation industry market place as Sagem Avionics, Inc. headquarters moved into their new 66,000 square foot facility today located at 2802 Safran Drive.
The new facility is in response the Sagem Avionics’ sustained growth and the increasing demand for sales, support and service, and their ever expanding line of products. With the move Sagem Avionics expects to better meet the needs of its customers and provide them with improved support and service. The building will also house a production facility to support the current and future demands for avionics such as for the current Army Lakota LUH-72 program.
In July 2007 Sagem Avionics broke ground of the new facility and for the first time since its incorporation in 1989, the company will reside in its own facility.
Work on the contract will be performed at the company’s facilities in Camden, AR, and Grand Prairie, TX, and is scheduled for completion in 4th quarter 2010. Specific quantities of vehicles and rockets were not disclosed.
"The HIMARS system brings much more mobile and lethal dimension to Soldiers and Marines," said Lt. Col. John Chicoli, U.S. Army Precision Guided Munitions and Rockets Product Manager. "HIMARS’ exceptional mobility and transportability, together with the newest evolution of the MLRS family of munitions, bring long-range, precision fires, all-weather, near-vertical impact to theater – greatly reducing collateral damage."
HIMARS can accommodate the entire family of MLRS munitions, including all variants of the Guided MLRS rocket and Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles. Designed to enable troops to engage and defeat artillery, air defense concentrations, trucks, light armor and personnel carriers, as well as support troop and supply concentrations, HIMARS can move away from the area at high speed following missile launch, well before enemy forces are able to locate the launch site.
Because of its C-130 transportability, HIMARS can be deployed into areas previously inaccessible to heavier launchers and provides a force multiplier to the modular brigade. It also incorporates the self-loading, autonomous features that have made MLRS the premier rocket artillery system in the world.
While the DFW metro area experienced a 10 percent increase in home foreclosure postings in 2007 over 2006, Grand Prairie saw a 14 percent increase.
Foreclosure Listing Service, Inc., an Addison based firm with forty-four years experience tracking foreclosure activity released its 2007 data for the metroplex.
The cities of Dallas and Fort Worth lead with foreclosures postings while Grand Prairie was number three among the suburban cities with 1,699 postings. Grand Prairie had 1,492 listings reported in 2006.
Bonnie Brown with Foreclosure Listing Service said unlike some regions of the country there is no one cause for the D/FW area home foreclosures. She said that sub-prime lenders have received much of the blame recently but it is not the only factor. Other contributors include upside down loans caused by low or no down payments and family budgets stressed by rising fuel and food prices.
Brown provided some addition data about the 2007 Grand Prairie foreclosures:
The ranking of suburban cities in the north Texas region for 2007:
The 638 workers at the CompUSA corporate offices in the Dallas/Fort Worth area will lose their jobs in March.
Ed Coder, Senior Director of Human Resources, CompUSA, said in a letter dated December 11 to the Texas Workforce Commission, as required by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, that CompUSA will permanently discontinue its corporate operations located:
The company expects to begin separations between February 8 and February 22, 2008. It expects to close between March 1 and March 14, 2008.
A message sent to CompUSA requesting information and clarification concerning the layoff in Grand Prairie was forwarded to Stanton Crenshaw Communication, a New York public relations agency. Officials at Crenshaw said that CompUSA was not releasing any information about the layoffs in Grand Prairie at this time.
Sequoia Real Estate Holding, LP of Northglenn, Co recently purchased the Forum at Grand Prairie Apartments for $25 million.
The year old, 304 unit complex occupies about 20 acres at 2650 E. Forum Drive.
Sequoia has a Dallas office with a management team to oversee the five apartment complexes it owns in the Dallas area.
Financially plagued MBS Cos., owner of the Fox Chase apartments, a 260 unit complex located at 1920 W. Tarrant Road in Grand Prairie, filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec 4.
MBS Cos., the Metairie, Louisiana base company named after its owner, Michael B. Smuck, filed Chapter 11 reorganization in bankruptcy court in Fort Worth.
MBS listed on documents filed in the U. S. Bankruptcy Court, 41 creditors with debt between $1 million and $10 million.
Courtesy U. S. Postal Service
December is the busiest time of year for mailing and the U.S. Postal Service is helping to make holiday shipping needs a little bit easier. With 20 billion cards, letters and packages expected to be delivered this holiday season, the Postal Service has some tips to help send holiday cheer in a safe, secure manner.
The Postal Service offers free, environmentally friendly Priority Mail and Express Mail boxes and envelopes. These supplies can be ordered at usps.com or picked up at a local Post Office and can be shipped anywhere in the world. But, the best consumer value may be Flat Rate Boxes and envelopes. No calculating postage or weighing is needed. Customers pay a flat rate of $8.95 no matter the weight of the package or its destination. When a package is ready to be shipped, log on to usps.com/pickup to schedule a free package pickup from home or office.
The Postal Service also offers pre-packaged shipping products, READY POST, sold at local Post Offices for customers unable to find proper mailing boxes and envelopes.
It’s important to remember that packages weighing more than 13 ounces bearing postage stamps must be presented to a letter carrier or retail associate at the Post Office and cannot be dropped in blue collection boxes.
“The Postal Service is making it easier this holiday season to ship to family and friends,” said Carl January, Dallas District Manager. “These mailing recommendations will help customers send their holiday cheer.”
When addressing envelopes and packages use the following guidelines:
Helpful packaging tips:
Don’t forget to mail packages using Priority Mail by Dec. 20 and Express Mail starting Dec. 22 to ensure delivery by Christmas.
Hendricks & Partners announced the sale of the Royal Oaks Manor apartments, 602 West Pioneer Parkway to Manor Redevelopment of Addison.
Peter Hartnett negotiated the $5 million transaction of the 276 unit apartment complex that is comprised of 39 two-story buildings covering approximately 15 acres.
Hartnett said Manor Redevelopment has an outstanding record of renovating and managing apartment complexes.
Recently Royal Oaks Manor has had an occupancy rate as low as forty-percent he said.
The American Eurocopter Blade Shop celebrated the repair of its 10,000th blade today during a ceremony in the Grand Prairie American Eurocopter Delivery Center.
The historic blade belongs to an Air Methods aircraft that had come in for maintenance.
American Eurocopter President and CEO Marc Paganini was on hand to congratulate the shop. “The quality work provided by our Blade Shop is an excellent example of American Eurocopter’s focus on customer service,” said Mr. Paganini. “The team should be very proud of this accomplishment and I congratulate them on a job well done.”
The American Eurocopter Blade Shop has grown from a 780-square-foot facility with only three employees into an 18-employee department occupying an 18,305-square-foot facility in the center of American Eurocopter’s Grand Prairie campus. The shop now averages over 1000 blades per year.
The American Eurocopter Blade Shop is a very experienced department. The five most experienced technicians have a combined 95 years of blade experience. To ensure that all technicians have the most up-to-date training, each technician takes part in recurrence training on a regular basis either at American Eurocopter’s facility or they travel to Eurocopter France or Eurocopter Germany.
The blade technicians in American Eurocopter’s Blade Shop do not only work on blades in the shop, some have also traveled the world in order to repair blades. Technicians have traveled to Mexico , Nepal , Italy , Canada , Hawaii and Saipan just to name a few.
The American Eurocopter Blade Shop continues to expand and the team is already looking toward the next 10,000 blades.
Basell Holding has acquired Slovay Engineered Polymers, a major polypropylene compounder, for an undisclosed price.
Slovay, based in Mansfield and operates a plant at 1201 Avenue H East in Grand Prairie, produces about 200 million pounds of polypropylene compounds primarily for the automotive market.
Basell is based in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands, with North American headquarters in Elkton, Maryland. It ranks as the world’s larges polypropylene maker with more than 12 billion pounds of annual capacity.
Pep Boys, a leading automotive aftermarket retail and service chain, announced on Tuesday its long-term strategic plan which includes the closing of the Grand Prairie store located at 424 E. Pioneer Pkwy.
Part of Pep Boys’ plan is to refocus on its core automotive merchandise including additional tire inventory, a broader parts assortment, and more customization accessories.
In addition, 31 low-return stores located in ancillary markets and locales with changed shopping patterns were closed. The store closures will result in a reduction of approximately 550 store employees.
Alexandra Spooner with Pep Boys Corporate Communications said that she did not have the specific number of employees affected at the Grand Prairie store and that available postions at other area stores were offered to the employees. Spooner also said that when appropriate Peb Boys provided a severance package based on an employee's tenure.
A sign on the Grand Prairie store stated that the store will be closed until Thursday when it re-opens to clearance the remaining merchandise.
Grand Prairie based American Eurocopter received good news when Congress last week passed the $460 billion 2008 Defense Appropriation bill.
The bill includes $230.5 million to purchase 44 of the companies UH-72A Lakota light utility helicopter. The helicopters will be built at the firms's Columbus, Mississippi plant.
Photo courtesy American Eurocopter
Haydon Corporation will now be the primary tenant in the 154,000 square foot GSW Distribution facility located at 1139 West North Carrier Pkwy.
Joe Rudd of ProLogis and Rick Medinis of NAI Robert Lynn, who represented Haydon, negotiated a long term lease that will expand Haydon’s facility from approximately 36,000 square feet to over 63,000 square feet.
Haydon is a New Jersey based corporation manufacturing metal framing systems.
